Ruben Amorim praised his Hattrick hero Captain Bruno Fernandes after his leading role in the victory of Manchester United over Real Sociedad-but said that frustrations of his desire to win him prevented his teammates to trust more.
Fernandes was the United Lynchpin in the deeper role that he took on under Amorim in their 4-1 win of second leg to seal a place in the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
In addition to his second united hat trick, the skipper drove his side from midfield and he could easily have had at least one assist to add to his goals with a number of great opportunities created for his teammates.
Amorim has said earlier that he needs his other players to show the same attitude as the captain, but has issued a soft criticism after their European victory, which suggests that the 30-year-old should continue to trust his colleagues more, even when he gets frustrated by the team performances.
“We know he is frustrated. We know he wants to win so badly. Sometimes, if we don't play well, he changes position and he goes after the ball,” Amorim said.
“Sometimes he needs a little more faith in his teammates to enable them to do their work and to help him play better.
“If we need him, he is always there. He can change position. He can bring the ball forward. He can score goals. He can make transitions as he has shown today.
“In the last 10 minutes of the game he can defend. He is a perfect leader for our team. We have to help him win titles because he is a legend.”
In addition to changing Fernandes to no. 8, Amorim recently started giving more playing time to experienced midfielder Casemiro – partly due to necessity with other midfield options that are not available – as well as moving Alejandro Garnacho to a right -sided No. 10.
The United Boss admitted that he still learns how to use both players best after the victory of Sociedad, in which Casemiro might enjoy his best performance of the season and received a standing ovation when he is replaced late.
“I learn how to use players such as Casemiro,” he said TNT Sports. “Without many options we try to place them in the best positions, and that helps us a lot.
“You can feel that they have more freedom. In Spain we tried to use Garnacho's pace on the right, he showed me so many good things on that wing – perhaps better than left.
“It's about finding the team's best solutions, and it helps to play with the same team. It's hard, we have lost some pace at the end of the game, but we are happy.”
Amorim could 'feel' trust grow for the second stage
Man Utd is now unbeaten for 90 minutes in their last seven games, including this total victory over Real Sociedad and the deserved Premier League -similar to Sunday with Arsenal.
Amorim identified the confidence that three strong performance had brought one after the other, and how their second half of the Gunners had helped their preparation on Sunday prior to Thursday's victory.
“The little things are really important,” he said. “We played in Spain, and [Sociedad] Felt that they could go to the next phase.
“Then we came here with two days to prepare for Arsenal, and that small feeling of the second half that we were there, the players began to believe.
“I felt that during the week I felt that the players thought they could do this. Even without the red card I think we would have won.”
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