Ruben Amorim: Man Utd boss defends captain Bruno Fernandes after Roy Keane criticism
Former Man Utd captain Roy Keane suggested Bruno Fernandes was among the 'imposters' at the club before saying 'talent is not enough'; Ruben Amorim says current captain Bruno Fernandes is 'special' for the club; Alejandro Garnacho is set to pay for team dinner after Ipswich sub reaction
Saturday 1 March 2025 07:26, UK
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.
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"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."
Analysis: Where would Man Utd be without Bruno Fernandes?
Sky Sports' Peter Smith:
Where would Man Utd be without Bruno Fernandes?
That was the question hotly debated by Roy Keane and Ian Wright this week.
Well the stats back up Ruben Amorim's view that Fernandes is "really important" for the club.
Since Fernandes' Premier League debut in February 2020 he has created more chances than any other player.
Only Mohamed Salah and Heung-Min Son have more goals and assists combined.
They have largely been important goal involvements from Fernandes too - if you calculate how many points his assists and goals have won for United again only Salah has had more decisive contributions.
In fact, Fernandes' assists and goals account for almost a quarter of the points United have won since his debut.
He may split opinion with other aspects of his game - but where would Man Utd be without his goal involvements? A lot worse off…
Amorim: Garnacho will pay for team dinner
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.
"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
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."
Analysis: Amorim in personable and honest form
Sky Sports News' Melissa Reddy at Carrington:
Ruben Amorim's ability to cut through the dark clouds at Manchester United to be really personable, honest and clear continued at Carrington on Friday.
The head coach fielded another tough series of questions with an openness that stems from his days as a player when he wished people would be more direct and truthful about things.
Amorim described how he turned investigator to deduce what exactly happened after Alejandro Garnacho's substitution in midweek and that he didn't have to seek out the player to discuss it, because the Argentine showed up at his office the next morning. He stressed the importance of perception and the 'punishment' for Garnacho is to pay for a team meal.
Roy Keane's criticism of Bruno Fernandes was naturally a hot topic and Amorim unsurprisingly disagreed with the former United captain's takes. Even in addressing this subject, the 40-year-old didn't shy away from the fact that Bruno's petulance and body language can be used against him. Amorim's line that his opinion is more important than Keane's is already being widely circulated on socials.
There was a defence of Patrick Dorgu and Andre Onana and the underscoring that players will make mistakes in the context United are in. They will also deliver important and helpful contributions.
Amorim is targeting much more of the latter against Fulham on Sunday, saying he wants two victories on the spin at Old Trafford to "get that winning feeling.
