Man Utd release Ruben Amorim statement as five moves announced after taking over

Manchester United have confirmed five appointments to the backroom staff of new manager Ruben Amorim.

Carlos Fernandes, Jorge Vital, Adelio Candido, Emanuel Ferro and Paulo Barreira have all followed the 39-year-old from his old job at Sporting to his new post in the Premier League.

As was made clear earlier this week, there is no place for Ruud van Nistelrooy after Amorim opted to begin his Old Trafford stint in familiar company. Van Nistelrooy led the club he represented for five years as a player to three wins and a draw in his four matches in temporary charge after Erik ten Hag’s sacking.

All five of Amorim’s appointments will link up with incumbent coaches Darren Fletcher and Andreas Georgson, as well as assistant goalkeeper coach Craig Mawson.

As he was at Sporting, Fernandes will take up the job of assistant head coach. United say that the 29-year-old enjoys a ‘close relationship’ with Amorim, having previously been part of his coaching staff at Casa Pia and Braga.

Vital will work with Mawson to train United’s goalkeepers, with Candido and Ferro named first-team coaches. Barreira is United’s new physical performance coach, having previously enjoyed stints with Arsenal, Liverpool and clubs in the Middle East.

Part of a statement on the Red Devils’ official website reads: “Everyone at United would like to welcome Adelio, Carlos, Emanuel, Jorge and Paulo to the club.”

Amorim now has just over a week to prepare for his opening game as a Premier League manager, against Ipswich Town at Portman Road. And the Tractor Boys are brimming with confidence after clinching their first win of the season at Tottenham just before the international break.

United’s new boss left Sporting in prime position after picking up 11 wins from 11 in Liga Portugal and going four unbeaten in the Champions League. He will hope to replicate that form and rescue United’s season after a miserable final few months for Ten Hag.

“The team is the most important thing for me,” Amorim explained in his first interview in Manchester. “And if you work as a team, then the talent individually is going to shine.

“But if I have to explain the importance of everything, it is the character, the way we fight, the way we play, and we must have an identity. If our players take the shirt, they will know that it is the Manchester United team.”