Man United sign new backroom staff member: Ruben Amorim ‘turns to athletics guru’ in bid to sharpen his struggling side’s conditioning
Ruben Amorim has turned to a world-leading athletics coach in an attempt to transform Manchester United’s fortunes.
Since the Portuguese coach arrived at Old Trafford in November, Amorim has endured a mixed spell, winning just seven of his 17 games in charge.
United have shown slight signs of improvement in recent weeks with three victories across their past four games, but the Red Devils languish in 12th in the Premier League, 12 points off the top four.
Amorim hasn’t been afraid to call out his side, with the 40-year-old recently labelling his team ‘maybe the worst’ in the club’s history, while he has also been critical of their work rate and even highlighted issues among his star’s body-fat levels.
And, according to The Times, Harry Marra, a legendary Olympics athletic coach, has joined the club as a consultant, tasked with sharpening United’s fitness.
Marra, who guided American decathlete Ashton Eaton to two Olympic titles in 2012 and 2016, was named as World Athletics coach of the year in 2016, while he has also worked with several other elite multi-format athletes.
Ruben Amorim has turned to an athletics guru in an attempt to sharpen Man United’s fitness
Harry Marra, a legendary coach, has joined the club as a consultant on a short-term basis
Amorim has been critical of his side’s physical condition during a tumultuous few months
He has similarly been involved at Major League Baseball team the San Francisco Giants, where he served as their speed and fitness consultant.
Marra is now working with the fitness and sports science staff at United, with the 78-year-old tasked with sharing his expertise.
The American is only expected to stay at the club for a few weeks, but the opportunity to pick the brains of such a legendary figure in athletics is said to have caused excitement.
Marra’s arrival follows a pattern at United of bringing in highly-respected figures from a variety of areas and sports to share knowledge and help to develop staff at the club.
The Times report adds that several similar moves have already been taken this season, with United hosting expert-led events across medical and injury management, nutrition and strength training among others.
Under Marra’s tutelage, the legendary Eaton won five outdoor and indoor world titles alongside the two Olympic gold medals, while he similarly broke two world records.
Marra also coached the likes of Brianne Theisen-Eaton, Paul Terek, Sheldon Blockburger and the American was named among the top ten track and field coaches of all-time last year.
Meanwhile, speaking back in November, Amorim had first highlighted his concerns over United’s fitness levels just weeks after arriving.
Marra guided American decathlete Ashton Eaton (right) to two Olympic titles in 2012 and 2016
Amorim, 39, has also previously outlined how his team ‘have to get better running back’
‘(We must) improve the physical aspect (of our game),’ he said. ‘I think if you want to speak about the team, the way we play, I think we lose the ball too often and we have to keep the ball.
‘We have to be better running back. I think that is clear for everybody. And we have to be very good in the details.
‘Sometimes we are hoping to change a lot of things, big things. I think it’s the small things and we are here to improve on the small things.
‘The way we see football, play as a team, understanding the game in one way, that is the focus. I can tell you in the small things I can help a lot these players.’
United return to action on Thursday when they travel to Romanian side FCSB (Steaua Bucharest) and a win will secure their automatic progression to the last-16 of the Europa League.
