Ruben Amorim's immediate aim is to give Manchester United back an identity – with every trophy in his debut season a bonus.
Former United striker Louis Saha believes Amorim – whose first game in charge is at Ipswich on Sunday – can win silverware in his first season at Old Trafford. But Saha said the Portuguese head coach's main aim will be to get United playing more fluidly and give them a bigger attacking threat before they think about winning anything.
“Over the last few years, Manchester United have continued to show that they are capable of reaching the final and I still believe this team is good enough and capable enough to do that again,” said Saha.
“Winning the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League will be a goal for Ruben Amorim, but having United play consistently well will be as good as a trophy.
“If Ruben can do this by implementing an identity, then it will lay the foundation for this team to win the kind of trophies we want, namely the Premier League title. We want him back and any other trophy Amorim can win in the meantime is a bonus.
“The main goal for the manager is to create that momentum, that belief and that spirit. We saw all these things in his team at Sporting Lisbon.”
Despite being in thirteenth place in the Premier League, United remain in the hunt for a place in the Champions League, while Amorim's side are just four points away from fourth place. Against that backdrop, Saha said it was still possible for Amorim to turn United's season around and make it a successful debut season for him.
“It's still very early in the season and even though United have started poorly, they are still only four points clear of third and fourth place,” Saha told Betfred.
“So we have to stay there and put pressure on the other teams competing for those places. We need to continue to use the momentum that Ruud van Nistelrooy has created and hopefully Ruben can take them to another level.
“This season has been tough for many teams, including Manchester City, and I am sure most teams will have periods where they struggle, even Liverpool, because it is the Premier League.
“Teams like Chelsea, who have a lot of good players, are struggling because that X-factor is missing. I believe United can still do damage with the squad they have, but they have to prove it week in, week out.
“Sporting Lisbon were very dangerous in transition under Amorim and were tactically flexible enough to make adjustments to make them stronger against teams, whether against teams that like to have a lot of ball possession and against teams that don't. United now have a manager who plays with a certain system and can offer adaptability during matches.”
*The full interview with Louis Saha can be found here
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