Diogo Dalot hails Ruben Amorim’s ‘worst ever Man Utd team’ speech as a positive turning point in struggling season
DIOGO DALOT has revealed that Ruben Amorim’s “worst-ever” condemnation of his Manchester United side was the best thing he could ever have said.
Not that he enjoyed it at the time.
The OId Trafford boss accidentally smashed a dressing room telly then did the same to his players’ egos in a brutal put – down after the 3-1 home defeat by Brighton two weeks ago today.
Yet since then United have won three games in a row for the first time this season.
The last of those was a 2-0 Bucharest defeat of FCSB to finish third in the Europa League table and an automatic place in the competition’s last 16.
Amorim was devastated by that Seagulls loss and there were fears his damning verdict that United had hit a history-making all-time low might have crushed the squad spirit
For he had already admitted that relegation was a “possibility.”
Instead there has only been a positive response and Dalot puts that down to the manager’s damning words, declaring: “I don’t want to hear that.
“So the message for me is the next training session I have to show that I don’t want to belong to the worst Manchester United team in history.
“You can analyse it as something negative. But I analyse it as something positive because I want to change the situation.
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“My teammates also. We showed that we want to change this.”
Dalot is now under his fourth full-time manager since signing from Porto for £19m in 2018.
Amorim followed Erik ten Hag, Ole Gunnar-Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho who bought him – all sacked.
The trajectory since Dalot arrived has been ever downward, despite Ten Hag’s successes in the League Cup then the FA Cup – to the point that Amorim delivered that brutal condemnation 15 games after replacing the Dutchman.
The Portugal international can only applaud the manager for his honesty and his desire to reverse the fortunes of a club that lurches from one crisis to the next – on and off the pitch.
The 25 year old stresses : “Obviously he is a passionate guy.
“He was as a player and now he’s as a manager as well, and I think it’s what this club needs.
“Speak to all the fans they always show this desire of wanting the best for the club. That’s what he wants.
“So if we want to win, if we want to go to where this club belongs, we need to be there and follow.”
Following has been traumatic during Amorim’s 18 games so far through a tactical re-education.
Going into Sunday’s meeting with Crystal Palace, Dalot says: “It’s no coincidence when we say that some things take time.
“It can sound like an excuse that when we have more time to train, we will get better.
“We will get better when we have more time to train, but you can see already that we are getting better. We are improving.
“Football is always unpredictable, but what you can see is that we are trying to be more consistent about it, trying to win more games.
“ It doesn’t mean that things will be lovely until the end of the season, but that’s where we want to go.
“We are really positive about it. We know that this storm that everybody is talking about, it will go away.
“But we need to suffer as a team, as a club, fans have to be together with us and I’m sure that they will rise again.”
I analyse it as something positive because I want to change the situation.
Dalot
Amorim, like Dalot’s first boss, now has the chance to take United into the Champions League, despite the club’s lowly and embarrassing Prem position, via Europa League success.
Triumph within Europe’s elite may for now be only a memory of the glory enjoyed by Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson but it is still one that for the defender and his team mates is an inspiration going forward.
He insists: “The message I want to pass is that we really know what it means to win a European cup at this club.
“We want to win the Europa League. We know how much winning will help the development of this club.”
Even three wins in a row means something after the nightmare that saw Amorim implode as Dalot looks forward to fans singing about looking on the bright side of life again.
He says: “It’s massive not just for us but as a club, but for the fans.
“I think obviously you go to Old Trafford on Sunday, the atmosphere is already different because you feel that we are winning games.
“It’s much easier to work, much easier to train when you are winning, and that’s where we want to go.
“And with Ruben. And yes, we are right behind him.”
Man Utd ratings vs FCSB as Mainoo shines in new role but one team-mate struggles
KOBBIE MAINOO ran the show as Manchester United marched on in the Europa League in Romania.
SunSport’s Henry Tomlinson has given his ratings of the United players against FCSB…
Altay Bayindir – 6
He was often a bystander during the game despite the hosts often getting up the pitch.
Did show that he needs to work on his ball control with his feet with a few sloppy clearances.
Noussair Mazraoui – 7
Battled well at times as he took up the third centre-back role.
Did very little wrong throughout the match.
Matthijs de Ligt – 7
Solid showing from the Dutchman in Romania who provided the muscle in the backline.
Lisandro Martinez 70′ – 6
Did well to help out in defence and keep the ball moving forward.
Although, he should never have been allowed to take a decent free-kick opportunity in the first half that he blazed over.
Diogo Dalot – 7
Out on the wing, Dalot struggled to have a good impact on the game and was caught out on occasion when needing to defend.
But proved crucial as he netted the opening goal with a tap in after making a good run at the back post.
Toby Collyer 45′ – 6
Made up one-half of Man United’s academy midfield duo and looked composed throughout the clash.
He did not let the occasion get to him, as he showed plenty of strength when required.
Harshly hooked at half-time.
Kobbie Mainoo – 8
Excelled in a slightly more advanced role to Collyer in the midfielder.
Mainoo set up the opener with a cracking low cross to Dalot before scoring himself with a composed finish.
Tyrell Malacia 45′ – 5
Provided plenty of width in the left-wing-back role and whipped in a couple of decent crosses.
Was replaced at the break
Christian Eriksen 70′ – 6
Forced a decent save inside 20 minutes and linked the play between the midfield and final third.
Fell off during the second half and was replaced by Casemiro.
Bruno Fernandes – 6
Had a couple of moans at the referee in the first half and was largely quiet.
Benefitted from the changes at the break as he had more natural attackers to link up with.
Rasmus Hojlund 80′ – 5
The misfiring striker put in plenty of effort as he was often making runs.
Had a decent chance with his head but failed to get enough power on it to trouble the goalkeeper.
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Amad Diallo 45′ – 6
Added a bit more threat on the wing after replacing Malacia.
Alejandro Ganracho 45′ – 7
Almost made an instant impact as he latched onto a loose ball but his effort hit the wrong side of the post.
Picked up an assist with a decent pass to Mainoo.
Leny Yoro 70′ – 6
Slotted into the backline to help see out the game.
Casemiro 70′ – 6
Dropped deep into the midfield and gave himself as an option for defenders to pass to do move the ball forward.
Joshua Zirkzee 80′ – 5
Did not get much of an opportunity to grab a goal.