Bruno Fernandes says Ruben Amorim has been telling the Manchester United squad ‘a lot’ that they need to score more goals as he tries to spark the Red Devils back into life.
It has been a difficult time for Amorim in charge at Old Trafford so far, but things have started to pick up, with an encouraging draw at Liverpool in the Premier League and a penalty shootout win over Arsenal in the FA Cup on Sunday.
There is an awful lot more improvement still to be done though, with Manchester United 13th in the Premier League table with just 23 points from 20 games.
They have scored just 23 goals in those 20 matches as well, the same amount as 19th-placed Leicester City.
Amorim has made it clear to the squad that this is unacceptable and Fernandes says the Red Devils should be able to make big strides in that department given the players they have.
‘The manager has been telling us a lot that we have to score more goals,’ Fernandes told Sky Sports. ‘And that’s true because we are a team that has the capability of scoring goals.
‘I know we have a lot of young players in front but we have qualities and we have to score goals because Rasmus is capable of scoring goals.
‘Josh [Zirzkee] is capable, Amad is capable. Garnacho, Rashy, Antony, me and even the midfielders that sometimes play a bit deeper like Kobbie or Manu [Ugarte] or Casa or Christian, they’re all players with goals in them.’
Fernandes says there has been good work done in training as Amorim looks to implement his 3-4-3 system after such success at former club Sporting.
However, he admits that formations, tactics and systems are secondary to enthusiasm and effort, which is what has been lacking during their nightmare spell.
‘It helps always when you have time to train and to prepare the games a little bit more,’ said the Red Devils captain. ‘It’s important but I think in these two games was more about – and the manager said this to us – it’s more about the passion, the desire, everything you put into the game in terms of how much you want to win the game.
‘I think everyone is really aware of what he wants and he demands from us position-wise, tactical-wise and everything.
‘I think we are now getting into the level that he wants effort-wise, with running and passion and desire to win games. So I think we still have a lot to improve for me in both aspects. But we will do it. And I’m pretty sure that we are in a good path to do it.’
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