Manchester United will invest in new players this summer, but without Champions League football next season, the club will not need a big team, says Ruben Amorim.
United registered their worst Premier League campaign ever after ending the 15th in the table, losing 18 games in the trial and reports against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final means no European football next season.
As a result of having fewer matches to play next season, Amorim – who hopes to bring Wolves Matheus Cunha to the club – wants to work with a smaller team that is easier to manage the following season.
“We are always preparing two plans,” said the Portuguese at the start of the club's pre -season tour by Malaysia and Hong Kong. “With and without the Champions League. Without the Champions League we don't need a big team either.
“We can control the team in a better way. Then we have a plan, which is to get some new players, but our big plan is to improve the team that we have to improve the academy.
“It was the past, so it can be the future. It can't change much because of financial fair play, we can't do much, even with the Champions League, so we are prepared.”
After supervising a “disastrous” campaign in Old Trafford, in the manager's own words, Amorim says that last season is now behind him when he and his players go ahead.
“It was important to end the season, we had to close that chapter,” he said. “It's not completely behind us because I have a row of English journalists waiting for the difficult questions, so I will rest out if we finish the Tour.
“To tell you the truth, I have closed that chapter, I am excited, I am nervous, I want to work on the next season, I don't have that feeling that I have to disconnect, I had the feeling of closing the season, but now it is a new season, so I am excited at the same time.
“So I don't need any rest, I just have to prepare for the next season.”
Although predicting that there will be a little more hiccups to struggle along the way, Amorim also thinks that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“It's important to stay together,” he said. “We are going to struggle, it will not be everything right away, but I see the team improving and that is the most important thing.
“Our target, I'll not tell you now. If you want a target, it's to win the first game, then we'll see. We have a lot to do during this summer, we have to prepare the team.
“Again, when you are in Man Utd, people will expect that we are at the top, but we have to understand the context, so I don't want the team to think of a big target, only the small target to win the first game, then we will transfer to the second game.”
In the meantime, participating in Europe can be positive for United next season, since Amorim wants to build team unity in the future.
“I have to say that for us in the Champions League cannot be an advantage to perform well, to perform the games better, to build the core we need for the future,” he explained.
“So it's good for us to take advantage of not having European games.”
Amorim: It is important that we will keep Fernandes this summer
Amorim has also emphasized the importance of keeping Bruno Fernandes in United this summer while rumors are starting to circulate about his future at Old Trafford.
Sky Sports News reported that Fernandes would like to be in the club, but the captain admitted that the club could “cash” him after losing the Europa League final.
Fernandes was recently associated with a move to Saudi-Arabian side Al-Hilal, which led to Amorim emphasized that United should try to keep “one of the top players in the world”.
The United Boss has now strengthened this point and says: “You can see through the execution, the leadership, the passion he has for the games. So it is really important, especially in these moments.
“You could see that in the last game. I felt that the team was without pressure; they performed pretty well and everyone wanted the ball.
“The team has different times and at different times, Bruno [Fernandes] Is the one who really wants to take responsibility.
“He should be because he is the captain, so he is really important to us and really important for what we want to build with this team.”
Sky Sports to show 215 Live PL games next season
From next season, the Premier League coverage of Sky Sports will increase from 128 games to at least 215 games that are exclusively live.
And 80 percent of all Premier League matches broadcast on television will be on Sky Sports next season.