Ruben Amorim offers surprise explanation for Man Utd's struggles

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has argued the club are still adapting to the modern approach to the game which produces more "robotic" performances like the one seen in their recent derby draw.

After the Red Devils played out a 0-0 draw with Manchester City, both sides were widely criticised for a disappointing spectacle, with United great Gary Neville claiming teams in the modern game are being "micromanaged within an inch of their lives".

Responding to the criticism regularly thrown his way by United legends, Amorim insisted the wider football landscape has changed from the era of Sir Alex Ferguson, which thrived on "feeling" and individual quality.

"The game is completely different and you have to be so good in your base and then that individual aspect and the freedom and the fluidity of the game is going to appear," Amorim told Sky Sports. "But, for that, I think we need time.

"There was an evolution, you can like it or not, but there was an evolution because you have all the games from the opponent's detail, from your departments, so you can understand better the movements that they make.

"In that evolution, you have to be better tactically. Sometimes I talk to [Darren] Fletcher, about how he prepared the games with Sir Alex Ferguson, it's completely different.

"There was more a feeling, that aspect of the individual talent. I think today is not enough and you can see some of the best teams, especially if you remember the years of Galacticos, they had maybe the best players in the world, but you need to have a connection."

Amorim continued his point, insisting United's struggles are not due to limited player ability, but rather the tactical understanding needed to beat such tactically astute defences.

"We cannot win the games just like I said with the individual aspect and let the players do whatever they feel," he stressed. "I don't see the game like that.

"I see the game in a different way and again, nowadays, they know everything about our players. The way [Alejandro] Garnacho will use the right foot on the left side, every detail the opponent knows. So we need to have an idea of how to play as a team and then expect the individual part to help us. Because in the end, that is the crucial point to make a difference in the game.

"Sometimes we lack that creativity in the last third, sometimes the quality. And when I talk about the quality, it's not just the individual quality, it's the understanding of the game in the final third.

"So I want to see both because I want to entertain people, but I also like to see my team defending like they defend in this game."

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