The new Portuguese manager of United took charge of his first training yesterday after his work visa was approved ahead of taking charge of his first match at Ipswich this Sunday.

His reign marks the start of a completely new era for United with new co-owners INEOS just about getting in their stride and of course, new manager Ruben Amorim starting soon.

But although this is a new era for all and is Amorim's first (ish) season, the expectations will still be quite high although people shouldn't be getting on his back if he doesn't win the Premier League, Europa League, Carabao Cup, FA Cup, Champions League and World Cup.

I don't think that is asking for too much 😅.

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Jokes aside, the 39-year-old has quite a task on his hands to restore United to something respectable this season after witnessing our worst-ever start to a league campaign. Thanks to the efforts of the now departed Ruud van Nistelrooy after his interim stint though, Amorim doesn't have to start from as low a position as we were in before Erik ten Hag was sacked.

Amorim now takes over a side that is still quite low in the league (13th) but only 4 points off of top 4, a side in 15th in the Europa League after picking up their first win in the competition this season and first win in Europe in over a year, and a side that had pretty smooth progression to the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup.

Perhaps the most important thing of all is him having a squad with basically all of it's players fit and available again. Even Tyrell Malacia is back as he featured in the u21s defeat to Huddersfield in the EFL Cup.

Quite a miracle that all these guys are back now that we have a new manager, but anyway.

So what are my (realistic) expectations for Amorim for the rest of the campaign?

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Identity

I did a post on this talking about how this was one of the most important things we need to see at United under the Portuguese. In ten Hag's entire tenure at the club, we never really saw a distinct style which was one of the major downfalls of the Dutchman at the club in my opinion.

One of Amorim's first goals in his own words, was to have an identity.

"The most important thing for me is the identity. Since day one, we will start with our identity."

This is an absolutely win for me for him to say that because we need to see some form of a clear style whether it's easy on the eye or not, whether we're successful or not. I cannot deal with not knowing what we are.

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We know that Amorim at Sporting had a beautiful and efficient style that brought him a lot of success. I just want him to stick with his style regardless of what happens. I don't want him to chop and change it according to his players.

We've tried that before and it didn't work. It really didn't work.

Stick to your guns Ruben. Stick to it. We will applaud you even if you lose 5-0 to City if we can see what you're trying to do.

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Premier League

Of course getting into the top 4 would be superb. I don't think that that is entirely impossible even considering our terrible start.

As we are only 4 points off it and those in those last two top 4 spots Chelsea and Arsenal, aren't exactly ripping things up nor are any of the other major contenders Newcastle, Villa and Spurs, and while we have the surprise packages of Forest and Brighton up in 5th and 6th, we don't expect them to be up there come the end of the season, so I do believe we have a decent chance of making it.

The league is the bread and butter of the campaign and is where we are truly judged in terms of style and proper progression as it requires absolute consistency whereas the cups don't give you a clear indication of where you truly are.

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I would like to see towards the latter stages (if not before) an ability to go to difficult grounds and face tough opponents and play Amorim ball. Perhaps not the finished article but something that we can get behind and cause us to not get hammered by our rivals.

We need (and deserve as fans) to see some good, entertaining football. We've been starved of it for so long and it's about time we saw something great.

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Do I think we'll actually make it into the top 4 though?

No, no I don't.

Sorry to disappoint but there's so much football in the league left to be played and we still have so many tough fixtures remaining. Amorim has to face both Arsenal and City away in his first few games.

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We also have to go to Anfield, Spurs and Chelsea. We've already lost 4 games and while there is a chance of making the top 4, we will need to continue as we are and stay consistent, hope that the rest are inconsistent too, and pick up points at the tougher away grounds.

That's a difficult ask. We need A LOT of things to go our way.

I feel like 5th or 6th is where we'll end up.

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Carabao and FA Cups

We saw that under Erik ten Hag that whatever you thought about him, he was a manager who took the cup competitions very seriously. This was something that I liked because I want to win everything. We're also in a position where beggars can't be choosers and need to take what we can get.

The domestic cups provided us with this opportunity to win something. When lifting the Carabao Cup two years ago, it was such a relief and gave us all a lift that perhaps we were finally getting our club back.

That obviously wasn't the case even after winning the FA Cup last season, which was obviously nice as well.

But what they did provide was that winning feeling, something that we may have forgotten over the years thanks to the lack of silverware.

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I would like for Amorim to take these cups as seriously as ten Hag did and should he win one or both, could be the perfect start for him at the club. It will also provide a confidence boost for all.

In his time in Portugal, the 39-year-old won the Portuguese League Cup three times, twice with Sporting and once with Braga, showing that he does take them quite seriously.

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I think we do need to go quite deep into them and perhaps win one of them. I don't see why we can't especially if we avoid some of the heavy hitters.

I believe we'll win one of the Carabao or FA Cup.

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Europa League

While I did say we won't qualify for in the top 4 for Europe, that doesn't mean I don't think we'll qualify at all.

I think we have a very good chance in the EL despite the poor start. The top 8 make it straight through to the round of 16 and although we're 15th, we are just 3 points behind 8th placed Steaua București and we've also played some of the harder games in the league phase already.

Get into the top 8 (which I believe we will), get a decent draw which to be honest, should be the case because other than Spurs, I don't think any of the others are that good, with all due respect.

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I think we will win this competition. I don't see any reason why not unless we completely capitulate. Winning the Europa League is easier than both domestic cups because in those two tournaments, we can face much harder opposition who could knock us out.

Europa League and qualifying for the Champions League next season whilst winning a trophy is there for the taking. I think Amorim will look at this competition as a chance to do what another Portuguese manager did in his first season at United.

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Jose Mourinho winning the EL in his first season was one of the best moments at the club post Sir Alex Ferguson, if not the best. It was the first time we'd won the competition and felt pretty damn good.

Amorim can follow suit.

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Final Thoughts

I know, I know it's like I'm expecting quite a lot. A potential top 4 finish and winning a trophy or three can be setting the bar too high which can go against me in Amorim's first (ish) season.

But I just feel like all that I've mentioned is very doable. I don't think any of it is asking for too much or seems far too out of reach.

Amorim himself also has his own high bar and will no doubt be wanting to do something that shows that he is the right guy and can restore this club to it's former glory.

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What are your expectations of Ruben Amorim for the remainder of the season?

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Background Image: Ruben Amorim in Man Utd training | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)