MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Ruben Amorim has told Manchester United fans he will do everything to bring the good times back to the 20-time English champion.
United's new coach has been charged with ending more than a decade of decline at Old Trafford since former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and its Premier League dominance fizzled out.
Amorim — hired from Sporting Lisbon this month — is embracing the challenge and said on Friday, “I will try to do everything to put this club in the place that it belongs. And I believe a lot that we are going to succeed.”
The 39-year-old Portuguese is the sixth permanent manager/coach since Ferguson retired after winning his 13th league title.
David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag all failed to return United to the summit of English and European soccer in a period when Pep Guardiola's Manchester City has dominated domestically.
It is unlikely Amorim will change that after coming in partway through a season in which United made its worst league start since 1986.
“We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games,” Amorim told United's in-house channel. “But the most important thing for me is identity. So since day one we will start with our identity.”
Asked what could be expected from his team in the first weeks of his reign, he added: “I want to say beautiful things to you, but I’m really honest. But what I can say is that I think you will see an idea."
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
James Robson, The Associated Press
