Cliff Notes – Mason Mount confident of role in new-look Man United team
- Mason Mount expresses confidence in securing a position as one of the No. 10s in Ruben Amorim’s revamped Manchester United squad, despite recent signings.
- Following an injury-plagued season, Mount aims to help the team recover from last year’s disappointing performance and return to European competition.
Mason Mount confident of role in new-look Man United team
CHICAGO — Mason Mount is backing himself to win the battle for a place as one of the No. 10s in Ruben Amorim’s team and help Manchester United get over the “hurt” of last season.
After an injury-hit campaign, Mount returned to full fitness in time to be named in the starting XI for the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham.
Since then he’s seen the club splash £135 million on Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, both of whom have been earmarked to feature as the advanced forwards in Amorim’s 3-4-3 system.
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The Portuguese coach has also used Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo in the same positions.
Mount, though, insists he’s not fazed by the situation and says he’s confident of earning a place in the team.
“It’s competition,” said Mount, speaking at United’s team hotel in Chicago.
“When you’re at a club like Manchester United, there has to be that competition there to perform and as a group we want to win and we’re all in that together.
“We want to perform as a group. We know last season wasn’t good enough so it’s about kicking on. Looking forward, the new lads that have come in have been brilliant in training so far.
“I’ll always back myself. I know what I can do. But we’re a team and we’re all working together in that. Obviously with the new signings coming in, they’re going to elevate us to another level and we all need to be at that level to really perform.”
Mason Mount has battled injuries since joining Manchester United from Chelsea
Mount was only fit enough to start five games between August and April last season, a spell which included a three-month layoff with a hamstring injury.
He returned in the closing weeks of the campaign to play a central role in Amorim’s team, starting five of the last six games.
It included the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final in Bilbao — a result Mount admits continued to have an impact while he was on holiday in Spain over the summer.
“It takes some time [to get over] for sure,” he said.
“Because as a player, you’re just thinking about little things in the game. I started the game, so it was like, what could I have done in that situation? Or could I have made that pass better?
“I think you don’t look too much into it, because you would drive yourself crazy, looking into loads of detail, but it hurts and the whole season hurt.
“This is a new slate now. We’re looking forward to performing. And that first game of the season is a great opportunity for us to do that.”
Like Mount, Amorim has been keen to stress this is a fresh start.
Cunha and Mbeumo have given the squad a fresh look while players not part of the plans including Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia have been left at home.
United are looking to bounce back from their worst season for 50 years. After finishing 15th last season, Mount is targeting a return to the European places as quickly as possible.
“We obviously want to be back in Europe,” he said.
“I think that is a massive, massive thing for the club. I think that’s the focus.
“We know how difficult that is now in the Premier League. There’s so many teams that are obviously investing and playing very good football at the moment
“From day one of preseason, it’s about standards and details within training, obviously on the pitch and off the pitch and really focusing on us as a group and what we need to do to be better and to perform.
“[Amorim] is massive on details, the small improvements on the pitch or off the pitch and he’s been really, really big on that.
“As a group, we know what we need to do in those areas and just trying to really improve that as a group because we need to be performing to the best of our ability.
“We haven’t done loads of analysing of last season. We looked at a few areas that we can improve on but this is a new season.
“It’s a new season for us and it’s like wiping the slate clean. Coming into this season with a different kind of attitude and a feeling about it. We’re ready to go.”