Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount has disagreed with Ruben Amorim over a key problem facing the squad.
Amorim makes claim about issue affecting his players
United cruised to a much-needed victory on Saturday as they beat Sunderland 2-0 at Old Trafford, to relieve some of the pressure that was mounting on Ruben Amorim.
First-half goals from Mount and Benjamin Sesko were all United needed to clinch three points and silence some of their critics. In the days leading up to the game, all the talk was about Amorim being in the spotlight after the 3-1 loss at the hands of Brentford.
There were suggestions that his job was on the line and that if he were to lose against Sunderland, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the football leadership could be forced to pull the trigger and sack him.
In his pre-match presser for the Sunderland fixture, Amorim told reporters that criticism from ex-players and the media was getting to some of his players.
In a surprising admission, Amorim revealed that some players had started to buy into the growing belief that his 3-4-2-1 system isn’t effective – a mindset he believed had negatively impacted performances.
Amorim insisted that he gets “crazy” about the never-ending criticism.
However, after the match against Sunderland, Mount strongly rejected claims that he and his teammates have been affected by media scrutiny.
Mount disagrees with Amorim’s claim
Asked whether the noise has permeated the dressing room, Mount told the Manchester Evening News, “No. For us, it’s just focusing on what the manager wants and that’s in training.”
“And then when it comes to the games, doing exactly what he asked for. And I think, as you see today, we stuck to the job in hand.”
“Everyone did their roles and responsibilities and it was a good performance. I think in the second half it got a bit cagey and there were times where we had to defend. We had to put the body on the line.”
Mount told the newspaper that although he shares a good relationship with Amorim, it’s no different from the rapport the manager has with other players. He added that Amorim might appreciate him slightly more because of his experience playing in the coach’s preferred system.
On the victory, Mount remarked, “It was obviously a big moment for us today. I mean every game [is big], but today was a lot of pressure on the performance, on the win. Being at home, coming off obviously a difficult result, I think it was so important for us to start sharp. That was something that we obviously spoke about in the dressing room.”
“Bruno spoke about before the game, before kick-off in the huddle. So I felt that, I felt the energy at the beginning of the game and obviously to get the goal, I think really settled us.”
“And then to go on and get another goal, going into half-time 2-0 up, you’re in a good place. I don’t think we stepped off at all in the second half, it was kept a bit cagey, but it was massive to get a clean sheet as well. So yeah, a very important win for us.”
“I think it was massive to really start sharp today. Big character to step up after a difficult game and we did that. Now we’ve got to push on, we obviously have a bit of a break now before the next game, but we need to take positives from this game and take them into the next one.”
The England international singled out Sesko and debutant Senne Lammens for praise. About Lammens in particular, Mount hailed the goalkeeper’s ability to “release the pressure” and settle things down for the team.
Mount and United are back in action on Sunday, October 19, when they take on Liverpool at Anfield.
Featured image Gareth Copley via Getty Images
