How Amorim got mojo back – and what he’s doing differently with ETH’s flops

Before a ball had been kicked, Ruben Amorim paced anxiously back and forth in his technical area, breaking only to shake hands with Sean Dyche and share a hug with Fred the Red.

“I'm getting worried because I don't know what's going to happen,” Manchester United's new head coach admitted in recent days.

Of course this is Amorim's choice. While he kept his feet on the ground at Old Trafford, he could have stuck to a system and formation that was more familiar to his players. But the 39-year-old was brought in from Sporting Lisbon to bring about change and change is what he makes, even if it means living on his nerves.

In a week where Pep Guardiola's obsessive nature has been under scrutiny, here was another coach who looks like he lives and breathes every moment. He didn't have to worry. His first Premier League win was also United's biggest since August 2021.

It gave Joshua Zirkzee and Marcus Rashford two goals and a clean sheet each, even as a miserable Everton contributed to their own demise. Arsenal at the Emirates will be a sterner test on Wednesday.

Amorim's ability to inspire and manage people was one of the reasons United hired him.

After scoring on his debut against Fulham in August, Zirkzee was in danger of disappearing from view. But Amorim resisted the temptation to stick with Rasmus Hojlund after his standout performance against Bodo/Glimt.

Zirkzee is not a natural number 9, but he produced two assured finishes and also had a hand in Rashford's second.

There weren't many players in red who were better than him, but Amad Diallo was one of them. The Ivorian has embraced his new role as a wing-back since picking up an assist in the opening minute of Amorim's Ipswich reign, adding two more assists yesterday.

It must have delighted the coach that both won the ball from first Jarrad Branthwaite and then James Tarkowski by pressing high.

Rashford was fitted with a brace days after Amorim told him to take charge of his own destiny. It makes a mockery of the claim that there are no goals in this team. In seven games since Ten Hag's dismissal, United have scored 19 goals.

Amorim refused to throw Rashford under the bus even though he disagreed with his decision to head to New York for the international break. He has also adopted a sympathetic approach towards Mason Mount.

Mount was only able to feature for the final ten minutes here, but Amorim sees him as a perfect candidate for one of the two wide attacking positions in his 3-4-3 formation. Rashford and Bruno Fernandes played there yesterday, and although Fernandes prefers a central role where he sees more of the ball, he still got two assists.

Amorim made a double substitution after the third goal and another after the fourth, having made six changes to his starting line-up for both Everton and Bodo/Glimt.

The logic is simple: players need to adapt to his system quickly, so give them as much playing time as possible.

As Amorim admits, it's a balancing act, which means he doesn't always know what will happen next.

“The result was good, but we were pragmatic,” he said. 'It wasn't pretty. We did our job: win. You feel that we still have a long way to go. You can't just focus on the outcome, you have to focus on how it happened.

'We still have so much to do, but it is better to work with victories. There are times when we are good, but there are also times when we have to suffer. We need time to improve.'

He remained an excited figure until victory was sealed. By then the Stretford End had stopped protesting the rise in ticket prices – with owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family accused of 'touting' and 'taking the p***' – to serenade their new coach with a chorus of 'Amorim's Red and White Army'.

These are still very early days, but it's starting to feel like United are on the rise again.