London, March 14 (IANS) Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim said that his team’s composure after conceding in their last two matches highlights their progress ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Leicester City. United secured a 1-1 draw against second-placed Arsenal last week, holding firm to earn a valuable point, before mounting a strong comeback on Thursday, overturning a deficit to defeat Real Sociedad 4-1 and secure a spot in the Europa League quarterfinals.
“I feel that in the last games we can understand better the idea of what we want to do. We are better understanding the plan for the games,” Amorim told reporters.
“We are giving the team more time to win and to draw the games. We are not suffering one goal and then losing our minds by suffering another goal. We understand the moments of the game, and we also are understanding better the way we want to play.
“I know that in football, especially in our moment, we can have a really good moment and then drop really fast, so our focus is to continue and not be too happy or too depressed. My idea is to continue, we have to survive.”
Sitting 14th with 34 points from 28 games, United will aim to improve their position with a victory over 19th-placed Leicester, who are struggling after five consecutive league defeats.
“Everything is important, and we need to continue with this feeling that we can win games. It doesn’t matter the time of rest or the time after to prepare for the next game,” Amorim said.
“We can do it. We showed against Arsenal that we have to be humble, and we (often) forget that. Forget the table and face Leicester like we did against Real Sociedad.
“We just need to win and improve our position in the table, and the most important thing is to continue this feeling of winning and that we are improving as a team.”
Amorim has provided a positive update on Mason Mount ahead of Manchester United’s away game on Sunday.
The Reds have been without Mount since mid-December when he was withdrawn during the first half of our derby victory over Manchester City. It has been a frustrating setback for the England international, as he was starting to perform well in Amorim’s new-look 3-4-3 system.
However, he returned to training earlier this week, and the boss revealed he could play a part at the King Power Stadium.
“I think he is going to (be on) the bench,” said Amorim after the conclusion of the Europa League tie with Real Sociedad on Thursday.
“We will see, but we need every player, and if he is fit, I am going to play him. He cannot play too many minutes; just five minutes of Mason Mount is perfect.”
When asked about how much he’s looking forward to having our Mason back, Ruben replied enthusiastically: “I already said, I really love Mason Mount. I see him and I know how he suffers.
“He does everything right. He eats right, his physical aspect is perfect, he is trying too much, and maybe he is thinking too much about everything. He was the European champion, he is a talent and he is a really talented player.
“When a player does everything like he does, he will always have the support of everybody here in the club. So we will try to manage the load, and you already saw some players who have a lot of problems during one time in some moments. He can stay fit, and I believe a lot in Mason Mount, and we need players like Mason Mount,” he said.
–IANS
ab/bsk/
