Ruben Amorim looking forward to clashing with Man City for the title one day – as his United side prepare for 195th Manchester derby against Pep Guardiola’s ‘struggling’ side
Ruben Amorim is relishing the day when Manchester United can go toe-to-toe with Manchester City in classic derbies that decide the Premier League title – but admits both clubs are ‘struggling’ too much at the moment.
The two teams face off in the 195th Manchester derby at the Etihad on Sunday when Amorim takes on City as United boss for the first time.
The man who swung the balance of power in Portugal by helping Sporting Lisbon eclipse their local rivals Benfica to win two titles is looking forward to a similar battle in Manchester.
But with United still a work in progress under their new head coach down in 13th place in the table, and champions City experiencing a dramatic slump after seven defeats in 10 games, Amorim is realistic about what is at stake.
‘I’m really focused on the details,’ he said. ‘I just want to improve the team so I cannot treat it like a normal derby. It should be like two great teams fighting for the title, and it is not that in this moment.
‘So it is just one more game with a very good opponent. Both teams are struggling in the moment so I hope in future I can feel that real feeling of derby (that has title implications). But my goal now is to improve the team and win games – and we’ll try to win this game.’
Ruben Amorim is relishing the day when Manchester United can go toe-to-toe with Manchester City in classic derbies that decide the Premier League title
Amorim pulled off a comprehensive 4-1 Champions League win over Pep Guardiola as Sporting boss only last month
United are still a work in progress under their new head coach down in 13th place in the table
Amorim pulled off a comprehensive 4-1 Champions League win over Pep Guardiola as Sporting boss only last month as City’s current malaise began to set in.
But he dismissed suggestions that United’s neighbours will be even more vulnerable on Sunday, insisting that he has enough problems of his own.
‘No, no, no,’ he said. ‘The great teams can respond in any moment, and I think they are in a better place than us in type of understanding the game, the way they play, the confidence they have. Even in this kind of moments, we have a lot to focus on in our team.
‘Of course, we have a strategy to try to win the game, with the strategy like it should be. But we are focused just on our team. We will face a great opponent and I’m more focused on our problem. We have a lot of issues here.’
