Ruben Amorim drops some positive news in that United are close to an agreement over a new contract for Amad while the boss also confirms that the club "will trigger our option [to extend Harry Maguire's contract by a year]." Amorim says that the team are "starving of leaders on the pitch" and while Maguire needs to improve his leadership skills, a player with a bit of leadership abilities like him could be vital for the foreseeable future.
The MUFC boss wants his leaders to "step up" as there are a lot of youngsters in the team. "If you want to be a top, top team you have to have leaders. We have that in the dressing room but they have to step up."
On January transfers, Amorim says that the club will look to strengthen but as to which positions, "I will keep that to myself." The manager says that the focus has been on "everything" during this week of training.
No press conference is complete without talking about Marcus Rashford. In this one, Amorim says that the number 10 did NOT train because he is ill but that the situation of the forward at the club has not changed. Rashford will also not be involved in Sunday's trip to Anfield.
United have been poor when it comes to starting both halves and to that Amorim believes it is a big problem for his team and it's not something that was evident in just the defeat to Newcastle in which Alexander Isak scored in the 4th minute.
With Liverpool being a team that fly out of the blocks, Amorim will want his team to be careful to not let the opponent get an early goal again.
Quotes via The United Stand.
Final Thoughts
I think it's great news to be moving forward in Amad's contract negotiations. He has been brilliant for us this season and picked up his second player of the month award for December. He is also one of just a few players who actually seem to have a future under Amorim given how well he's playing.
As for Maguire, I'm not his biggest fan but admittedly, he has been good for us in the last year or so. His only issue has been that he is picking up more injuries which is a bit of a problem.
It makes sense to trigger the one year extension because we won't want him to leave on a free at the end of the season. This will ensure that should we look to sell him, we will bring in some funds.
He is also more of a leader than most even if he isn't a Roy Keane in terms of that leadership. He has more experience than a lot of our team especially in the Premier League and that could go a long way into helping Amorim be more settled at United.
So far, his more experienced players have let him down not just in terms of leadership but also performances. This is perhaps the reason as to why he's put it out to the public that they need to 'step up' with how they lead in the dressing room and on the field.
There are a lot of young players and new signings and to not have that leadership from the experienced players will no doubt slow down their progression.
As a manager, and a new one at that, you would really want the senior players to stand up and help you. However, for Amorim, he is seeing exactly what we've seen for so many years: a lack of leaders.
This has been one of the major problems at the club since Sir Alex Ferguson left and much like many other issues, hasn't been resolved.
A lack of leaders make the task even harder for the manager and why we see a lack of quality on the field. There is also little to no accountability from any of them, leaders or otherwise. Nobody puts the blame onto themselves and look everywhere else but in the mirror.
How can you follow people like that?
I have a feeling that we will bring in some players in January as there is just too much noise regarding transfers. As to which positions we need to strengthen in, it's hard to argue that all positions need to improve.
That obviously won't happen but Amorim will probably have known which players and positions need improving not long after taking the job.
Now that he finally had a week of training, it will have given him the chance to implement his style on this team even more than before. He's previously stated that he's only had a handful of training sessions since joining United in November. This is due to the quick turnaround times between games.
Hopefully this week of training will make a difference at Anfield. We will need it.
Slow starts to halves are something else we've had for a long time. In almost all of our recent matches, United have not only conceded the first goal but have let them in early in the game or after the restart.
That lack of concentration from our players is piss poor as it's far too easy for teams to take the lead in games. We make too many mistakes that end up putting us on the back foot unnecessarily.
Do this at Anfield and the scoreline could be a cricket score. Liverpool are famous for their fast starts so as to put immediate pressure on their opponents. With a rowdy Anfield faithful behind them as well, this just gives the LFC players even more energy to go out there and put their opponents to the sword, especially early on.
How they started off in the game against City was a prime example of what they can do from kick-off.
They will definitely be doing the same on Sunday.
Background Images: Amad | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal
Harry Maguire | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal