Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim says his opinion about Bruno Fernandes is more important than Roy Keane’s.
The former United captain gave a scathing review of Fernandes’ leadership, tearing into his recent displays while speaking on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast.
“I see fans at matches and they’re singing for Bruno. I see these boys, I think you’re imposters!'” the ex-Republic of Ireland international said. “You have to have a starting point. I go back to it all – talent is not enough. Bruno’s a talented player, but talent’s not enough.”
Asked about Keane’s comments in his press conference on Friday, Amorim was quick to defend Fernandes.
“I have a different opinion. Bruno is really important for us in the club,” Amorim said.
“He’s special for me. He’s playing well in a difficult context. He always wants the responsibility.
“I know always as a captain he does things with his arms and sometimes you see it like it’s criticising the team-mates. I think most of all it’s a lot of frustration for the last few years. He wants to win and sometimes it’s really hard to deal with that frustration.
“But like I said, everybody has an opinion, Roy Keane has big standards from him in his time. And it’s normal to have an opinion. I have an opposite opinion and I think it’s more important than Roy Keane’s because I’m the coach. And I think he’s doing things quite well.”
Amorim: Garnacho will pay for team dinner
Alejandro Garnacho appeared to storm down the tunnel after being taken off following Patrick Dorgu’s red card
Amorim also said Alejandro Garnacho will pay for a team dinner after walking straight down the tunnel following his substitution during United’s 3-2 win over Ipswich on Wednesday.
Garnacho was substituted on 44 minutes by Amorim in an immediate reaction to Patrick Dorgu’s red card, with the forward replaced by Noussair Mazraoui.
The Argentine went straight down the tunnel as United fans in Old Trafford appeared to boo the decision to take the winger off.
FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Manchester United’s match against Ipswich Town in the Premier League.
“He came to me,” said Amorim. “It was funny because the next day he came to me in my office. I did some investigations and he went to the dressing room to change his clothes because he was wet, he watched the game in a different [place] – not on the bench, but he watched the game.
“And at the end of the game he went home. There’s not an issue there.
“But I told him that at Manchester United everything is important and perception at a big club like Manchester United is important. So he’s going to pay [for] a dinner to all the team and that’s it.”
Amorim defends Onana mistakes
Jaden Philogene’s cross beats Andre Onana as Ipswich equalise at Old Trafford
Amorim came out in defence of his goalkeeper Andre Onana, who also faced criticism following his performance against Ipswich. A mix-up with Patrick Dorgu gave Ipswich their opening goal while many have also been critical of Onana for his role in Ipswich’s second.
“In the last year he had some difficult moments but this season, he made some great saves for our team,” Amorim said.
“Sometimes he had some problems but that is normal. If you look through our team, you can find a lot of players with that issue. We are not performing so well as a team, and some players have problems.
“In the second goal, people talk a lot about it from Ipswich. He’s waiting for the shot of Delap. That is really clear. Then the ball continues to the goal. That can happen. We have to support Andre like we support all the players, prepare for the next game, forget about the past and prepare for the future.”
