A Manchester United star has admitted that he is “trying to adapt” to the “new way of playing” football at Old Trafford under Ruben Amorim’s tactical system.
Ruben Amorim made his exit from Sporting CP last November and arrived in the Old Trafford dugout as the successor to Erik ten Hag at the Premier League club.
Erik ten Hag was sacked as Manchester United manager last October after the Red Devils endured a difficult start to the 2024-25 Premier League campaign.
Amorim wasted no time in making changes as United manager, including bringing over his tactics and playing style that he has implemented at Sporting CP.
The 40-year-old former Sporting head coach enjoyed incredible success in his native homeland, including lifting two Primeira Liga titles with the Portuguese outfit.
Amorim’s tactical system at United has seen the Red Devils shift to a three-man backline and it has yielded mixed results for the club in the 2024-25 season.
The United head coach has already faced calls to pivot away from his formation amid the varied set of results, but Amorim has remained firm on using his system.
Diogo Dalot’s eye-opening admission of playing in Ruben Amorim’s tactical system for Man Utd
Diogo Dalot was a standout performer at Old Trafford under former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag in the 2023-24 Premier League campaign.
The 26-year-old Portuguese right-back earned plaudits for his consistency last season, including winning Manchester United’s Players’ Player of the Year award.
However, Diogo Dalot has struggled with the same level of consistency in the current campaign and the United defender has been met with criticism at times.
Despite coming under pressure at times, Dalot has remained a firm favourite for Ruben Amorim and regularly played as one of the wing-backs in his system.
Speaking to United’s official media channels, the Portugal international has admitted that he is now trying to enhance his attacking input in Amorim’s system.
“I’ve started being a little bit more up the pitch,” Dalot said, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“I still think I can get into even better positions and arrive a little bit more, and that’s the challenge I have. The qualities are there.
“It is just trying to adapt also to the new way of playing and trying to help the team as much as I can.”
Why Ruben Amorim refuses to move away from his tactical system at Man Utd, even if it is for the short term
Amorim has been quizzed on his firm stance over his tactical system and the Portuguese coach has insisted that his tactics are not the issue of concern.
“I have to sell my idea,” he said in December 2024, as per BBC Sport.
“If I change all the time it is going to be even worse.
“I understand they have a lot of difficulties because they spent two years playing one way and now they are playing another.
“With a lot of losses, it is really tough on them. You can feel it, during the game I can feel it but I have to sell my idea because I don’t have another one.
“When you have a change of coach, especially in this type of club, it is because they were not winning.
“They played in the system they were bought for and were chosen perfectly for that system. After two years, working in pre-season, they were losing.
“So, am I going to change to that system to something that I don’t believe in? That doesn’t make sense.”
United will now return to Premier League action on Sunday and the Red Devils will host Wolves at Old Trafford, with kick-off slated for 2pm UK time.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
