Diogo Dalot – who wins his fitness battle to be ready for the Europa League final against Tottenham in Bilbao – has detailed what he thinks of Ruben Amorim's approach
The defender of Manchester United Diogo Dalot insists that the honesty of Ruben Amorim is the best policy for the club.
Amorim has been brutally realistic about the quality of the team he inherited six months ago – and the size of the task he is confronted with. The 40-year-old even wondered if the job is too big for him, with the Reds for their worst competition finish for 50 years despite the prospect of still being eligible for the Champions League by Tottenham in the Europa League final of Wednesday evening in Bilbao.
Now Dalot has lifted the lid on the style of Amorim – and the fans have promised that the good times will return once United has driven the storm. Dalot, who believes he wins his fight to be fit to face Spurs, said: “Personally it hurts a lot when the manager says what he said.
“But it's just something he is really honest about. He doesn't hide his emotions. He does not hide the kind of communication he wants to express – and that makes him an honest man, an honest person.
“Nowadays it is very difficult to find managers and players like him. But if it hurts you, it is a good sign because it means you want to change things. He speaks about my team, my teammates, my club. I don't want to hear my manager and someone else around the club.
“So what can I do to change that? That is what I concentrate on most. I try to develop as many teammates as many people as I can to have the same energy – but then you have to fight.
“It is clear something that the club will tackle, the players must also tackle. We have to look at ourselves and see what I can change to be better and try to get into the same pattern that the manager wants.”
Dalot, 26, has seen Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag fail where Amorim hopes to succeed in the seven years that he has been in Old Trafford after his £ 19 million arrival of Porto.
Amorim arrived with a great reputation in November after winning two titles in four seasons in Sporting Lisbon. But his determination to impose the same playing style in Manchester who served him so well in the Estadio Jose Alvalade was a heavy transition.
Dalot insists that his countryman will live or die because of his beliefs – and rubs suggestions that Amorim is too nice to be a winner in the Premier League.
The full-back also thinks that the gesture of the manager in buying tickets for the Bilbao final for staff members who had been told by the club that they would have to pay their own way is typical of his leadership style.
Dalot, who fights to shake off a hamstring problem, said: “Don't get me wrong, the manager is a nice guy – but when he has to give everyone a stop, he gives a stick.
“He is not afraid to say what he thinks. I think you have seen since he came that he has his own ideas, he will not change anyone for anyone because he thinks he is best for the club – and I can guarantee that it is best for the club.
“It will take a little time. Everyone made a head when he came across the big storm we needed to continue, but that is what we are now confronted with and we will come through and people will look back at this time as something big for the club.
“We just have to keep building because I believe we will do great things together. The manager has shown how much he wants to keep the club united by literally paying to ensure that everyone will be together in the final.
“I think it's a great gesture. It could easily have been all the players who do it, but by doing it it is so incredible.”
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