Ruben Amorim wants Manchester United to stop overthinking

New Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim had a mixed opening to his Premier League journey in drawing 1-1 against Ipswich Town at Portman Road. The dream opening with an early goal from Marcus Rashford was not enough to mask the shortcomings in the performance overall. And Amorim's post-match declarations verified both his initial impressions and his philosophy for the future.

Amorim was appointed before the international break, and thus, his team had limited time to prepare for the Ipswich game. The short preparation time, plus the pressure of a Premier League debut under his belt, meant that the Portuguese tactician did not take much pride in the way his team allowed things to be out of their hands during the game.

Ipswich leveled through a deflected strike from Omari Hutchinson, and United made nothing of their superiority in the game. Late heroics from Andre Onana were a little consolation.

Meanwhile, speaking to the media afterward, Ruben Amorim focused his comments on the psychological aspect of the match.

"My players were thinking too much," he said. We had just two days together, and we needed more time. When you start like we did, you have to control the ball, but we couldn't. The players really tried, though," he added in a tolerant tone, acknowledging that they had taken time to adapt to his ideas.

Amorim, who had held on-field work preferable over media commitments, signaled what might be in store regarding United's managerial change when briefing the media after the draw. United managed just one win in the last four outings in the league following the tumultuous period under Erik ten Hag and interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy. They are now 12th in the table, far from their ambitions.

New challenges come Amorim's way

Though, Amorim would face an immediate challenge in building cohesion with the message of how he wants to play. Next up is Europa League match against Bodo Glimt at Old Trafford on November 28 followed by the Premier League assignment against Everton on December 1. The matches would serve as an early test for Amorim's ability to reverse the trend under much increased expectations.