Ruben Amorim has hinted Benjamin Sesko will start in the Manchester Derby tomorrow.
The Manchester United head coach was facing the media in the embargoed section of the pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrows match.
Sesko to start Asked about Sesko’s slow start in the matches he’s played for United so far, he said:
“I think more than to look at exactly what he did during the games is what he can bring to our team. If you see against Burnley, he had some movements, especially inside the box that we don’t have with Josh, with Cunha and even with Rasmus in the past. We have a guy who really likes to go inside the box to have a header. He can run. We need to use him more as a runner.
“So he’s going to improve. You can feel that he feels like the pace is different. He’s going to get used to that. But maybe against City it’s a good moment to start a game.”
Kobbie Mainoo The subject then moved to Kobbie Mainoo and the fact the young star came close to leaving in the summer. Amorim was asked if he has seen a difference from him since, and what he expects from him.
“I didn’t have a conversation with him before the window closed,” he replied. “I had this week because I don’t want Kobbie thinking that I was having any conversation with him just to hold him. I don’t want that feeling.
“I believe a lot in Kobbie. Some of you think that Kobbie Mainoo is already done, but I think he can do so much better. He can do it, he can improve a lot.
“I think for some guys it’s enough, but for him it’s not enough. Maybe it’s not fair, but I think I’m helping Kobbie Mainoo, and that’s it. He will have opportunities like the other guys. If I feel during the week that he’s the best player to play, he’s going to play. And that I prove already to every player here.
“So I believe a lot in him. I have the same feeling that you have, that he’s a top, top player. But he can be so much better. So I’m focused on that.”
Pressing the boss on the issue, another reporter noted that Mainoo started for England in the European Championship final and scored the FA Cup winning goal for United and asked why he “never seems to start him” in Premier League games.
“Sometimes it’s the opinion of a coach,” Amorim answered.
“I remember Vitinha. Vitinha was not playing for Wolves. Then nowadays you can see that Vitinha maybe is the best midfielder in the world. So you never know. Something can happen sometimes.
“The way I play is completely different from the last manager. Sometimes I look at Kobbie Mainoo and I feel that sometimes he was the only guy that calmed down the game [under Erik ten Hag]. Now we have other players that calm down the game. We play a different game. And sometimes I expect more from Kobbie Mainoo and I know that he can give that. So maybe if I say more Kobbie Mainoo is going to play, he’s going to get hard to take out.
“Sometimes it’s not fair but I need to to go what I’m feeling in the moment and that is the only feeling I know that he started the European final in a team that has a lot of talented players.
“Foden played in that game, Palmer was on the bench, he was playing, I know all that, but sometimes I have a different way of seeing the game.”
Asked how his attitude has been to fighting for his place, the boss replied “It’s fine, he’s not used to fight for his place maybe. He’s uncomfortable but he’s a very good kid. He wants to learn but sometimes it’s hard to push different things from the players. But he’s fighting and he’s a very good kid.”
The next question was what element of a midfielder’s game he sees as most important.
“Everything. Sometimes it’s the balance in the midfield. Kobbie Mainoo is really good on controlling the game, but if he plays as an eight, he has to reach the box, returning. Sometimes he has to cover a lot of space with just two. Bruno is doing that job. And then sometimes it’s bad luck.
“Bruno is maybe the more influential player in the last years. He’s been playing in that position. Kobbie Mainoo could play as a six, but sometimes he passes the ball and goes away. And he’s not a reference as a six, so we have to balance everything.
“I think he needs to have the technical ability that he has. But he needs more pace. He needs to understand better the position. He needs to play at different speeds sometimes. Sometimes he’s slower, sometimes he’s faster. And I think he can improve on that. And then he has to beat Bruno. He has to beat Case. He has to beat Manu[el Uagrte]. They are good players also. So I need to choose.”
Asked if he thinks he has the right midfield partner for the England star, he admitted, “I don’t know. It depends on the game. It depends on the opposition. It depends on set pieces sometimes. All these things matter when you choose the team. Kobbie Mainoo is a very, very good player, but also Bruno. So, OK, I can put Bruno on the side. I can push him up. But then I take Cunha out.
I can put Cunha on the other side, but then I take Bryan [Mbeumo out]. So, Sesko is on the bench all the time.
“So, I’m trying to make choices. And to play in Manchester United, you have to have more than 11 players. That’s my feeling.”
In reply to a question about whether he is happy with the midfielders he has, Amorim said:
“I’m really happy with my players. I’m not going to say that I’m not happy, I need a different kind of staff. I know [it’s the same as with] the goalkeepers. But that’s the point, guys. You ask me if I’m confident with my goalkeepers. I don’t know what is going to happen. I’m not going to say to you, no, no, no. I’m not confident with my goalkeepers, I need another guy. I’m not like this guy. They are human beings. My players are the best ones until they move.”
Comparison with Guardiola The next question referred to United being in a higher position in the league than tomorrow’s opponents and whether he still feels that United have to improve more than their neighbours and whether he is under more pressure than Pep Guardiola.
“You cannot compare. The guy is winning all the time. He can relax in not winning anymore. I have to prove every day here. And I feel that. I’m really comfortable with that. I think that every day that I’m coming here, I have to do better.
“Compare me with the situation of Guardiola, it’s just a joke. I think we have bigger problems. We continue to have bigger problems, but we are addressing everything. Sometimes we are frustrated, angry, but we are facing all the problems and we are trying to improve. I see the team playing so much better now. We just need to be more clinical, to win more games and things are going to get easier, I think.”
Asked if the win against City last December backfired because it created a huge expectation, the head coach said:
“I don’t know. It’s hard to point to a game last year that was a backfire. We had so many moments like that. We just focus on the future. We have four points. I think we should have more in this moment. but we need to be really competitive. It’s a very important game for everybody here, but especially for our fans, so we will try to do our best.
Amorims comments in the first section of the presser can be read here.
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Red Billy Red Billy is the managing editor of The Peoples Person, author of three books and totally obsessed with football’s transfer market. Billy still insists Matteo Darmian and Alex Telles could have made it at United given half a chance.
