Incoming Man United boss Amorim makes Alex Ferguson warning

Incoming Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has warned the club’s fans not to get over-excited if his Sporting Lisbon side spring a Champions League surprise against Manchester City.

Sporting host United’s local rivals on Tuesday in one of the last games before Amorim leaves the Portuguese champions to take over at Old Trafford next week, and the 39-year-old is well aware that he is already being judged.

“The focus is on winning the game for Sporting,” he said. “After that, the inferences that people will draw from this game are not important to me because they could be misleading.

“If the result is negative, expectations will drop. If we win they will think that the new Alex Ferguson has arrived! That will be very difficult to live up to. I don’t think about that. What interests me is to win.”

Amorim nonetheless heads to England with a burgeoning reputation, having revived Sporting’s fortunes and broken the domestic duopoly of Porto and Benfica since taking up his current post in March 2020.

The Lisbon club have won 14 of their 16 matches in all competitions this season, including all 10 in the Primeira Liga, and are undefeated in the other two as they prepare to host a City team on an altogether different trajectory.

Pep Guardiola’s men saw their club record 32-game unbeaten top-flight run ended by a first ever loss against Bournemouth on Saturday, just days after they were eliminated from the Carabao Cup at Tottenham Hotspur.

City are also in the midst of an injury crisis, with season-long casualty Rodri joined on the sidelines by Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Oscar Bobb. Kevin De Bruyne is back in contention but has not played since mid-September. 

Amorim was mooted as a possible target for City amid uncertainty over Guardiola’s future, but he said he always wanted to join the red half of Manchester. 

“Obviously, it is something that crosses your mind but I never had any doubt,” he added. “My decision is made. I wanted to work for Man United and that is what I did.”