What Ruben Amorim has already changed at Man United

Whistle in mouth, a football tucked under his arm, Ruben Amorim looked every inch the head coach as he strode out onto the grass for his first training session at Manchester United.

Not for him the withdrawn role of most managers, watching on as their coaching staff put the players through a series of drills. Amorim is here to coach. To get his hands on this United squad - both literally and figuratively - and mould them into the winning team he wants.

The first images of him meeting some of the players who weren’t away on international duty last week gave us a clear indication of what to expect from the new boss.

Amorim embracing Mason Mount and keeping an arm around the player’s waist as he spoke to him in the gym. Amorim placing a hand behind Luke Shaw’s neck while they were deep in conversation in another image. A hug with Kobbie Mainoo and some words of encouragement for Leny Yoro.

It was a marked contrast to the less tactile Erik ten Hag, who didn’t always find it easy to connect with his players on a personal basis.

That didn’t make Ten Hag a bad manager. But Amorim has a different way, a warmer way, that worked wonders for him at Braga and Sporting Lisbon, and one that his new employers dearly hope will work for him at United too.

The hands-on approach was evident in his first training session at Carrington on Monday after the 39-year-old and his coaching staff from Sporting were cleared to start work, having spent a week settling in Manchester while their visas were being processed.

According to insiders, it has continued this week as Amorim has put the squad - or at least those available to him - through their paces in near freezing conditions far removed from Lisbon where the temperature is still nudging 20 degrees.

Amorim has been in the thick of it, observing the players at close quarters and telling them exactly what he wants. At one point in Monday’s session, he was seen leaning into Jonny Evans and putting his hands on the defender’s shoulders as he waited for a high ball. Next he was instructing Mainoo on his movement and positioning.

A sudden hard blow on the whistle was the signal that United had lost possession and his players had to run at full speed towards their own half to recover the ball as quickly as possible.

This is also the Amorim way. A 3-4-3 formation that relies on everyone springing into defensive mode when a move breaks down.

No great surprise there. The best teams these days are good in transition. Ten Hag was big on it too.

But the secret to Amorim’s success in Portugal has been a total buy-in from the players - an unwavering commitment to the cause - and that feels like his biggest challenge with a group for whom the concept of tracking back did not always seem the No 1 priority under his predecessor.

Amorim has already acknowledged that United cannot play as defensively as Sporting but, asked to describe his philosophy in his first interview with the club, he replied: ‘In one word: team.

‘A lot of people now talk about the 3-4-3 and the 4-3-3 and all that stuff. But when I think as a player of Manchester United, it is not a system of formation, it’s the character of the players. Everybody thinks the same: running back, playing, enjoying. This is what drives me.’

So for all the tactical changes Amorim intends to make, winning the hearts and minds of these players so they put in the hard yards for him will be crucial in turning his plans into reality.

It’s no easy task when he intends to implement the changes immediately at Ipswich on Sunday and has only two full training sessions once all his international players are back in the building.

A back-three is braver still with up to four central defenders - Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Yoro - possibly unavailable.

Insiders say that no one is expecting a transformation at Portman Road, just a sense of identity and a clearer idea of what will follow under the new man. Amorim promises it will give us ‘an idea’.

Still, it’s a tricky start considering that all four of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s games in charge were at Old Trafford after stepping in as interim manager when Ten Hag was sacked last month.

Mercifully, Amorim’s second game against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday will be at home and not 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle at the Norwegian club’s ground.

A coach known for his magnetism has certainly made a good first impression above and beyond the usual surge of energy felt at any club when a new coaching team comes in.

The dazzling smile has been in full megawatt mode as Amorim has been shown around Old Trafford and Carrington, meeting players, staff and a few lucky fans as well.

Joining the stadium tour, he chanced upon one couple from Nigeria celebrating their 14th wedding anniversary. Amorim then walked into the home dressing room for the first time to discover a group of supporters who could hardly believe their luck as they posed for pictures with him.

That first interview with the club’s in-house TV station went down so well that sales of the green adidas top he was wearing on camera immediately went up.

But already it’s becoming clear that the bonhomie is not to be taken for granted. The same backroom staff who have been impressed by Amorim remembering their names after one introduction, have also been left under no illusions about the high standards he demands.

‘Don’t let the smile be mistaken for softness,’ said one.

In meetings this week, the players have been warned about their lifestyles away from the pitch and what is expected of them as professionals. The feeling is that he will be just as tough as Ten Hag, albeit with a more charming approach.

Amorim also has the benefit of being 15 years younger than the Dutchman. While he lacks the same experience, he and his coaching staff are on a similar wavelength to many of the players.

After all, this is a man who was lining up against Jonny Evans in a Champions League tie when Braga played at Old Trafford 12 years ago.

Communication is arguably his greatest strength, and at a team meeting after training at Carrington on Thursday he was able to converse freely with the players in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Amorim and his Portuguese staff are still living out of suitcases at the Lowry hotel after flying to Manchester by private jet the day after their final game with Sporting, away to Braga almost two weeks ago.

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The head coach and his assistants, Carlos Fernandes, Adelio Candido and Emanuel Ferro, as well as goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital and sports scientist Paulo Barreira, have all received their work permits. Analyst Eduardo Rosalino is waiting on a separate application.

The week-long process at least allowed them to find their bearings in Manchester and they were spotted having a stroll through the city centre at the weekend, Amorim easily recognisable under a white hood.

It’s understood that he is close to finding somewhere more permanent to live before his wife Maria and their two children arrive from Lisbon.

For now, though, football must come first. Amorim will hold his first press conference on Friday and then it’s all eyes on Ipswich.