Amorim Urges Manchester United to Stay Focused Ahead of Leicester Clash

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim discusses the team's upcoming match against Leicester City, emphasizing the importance of staying focused and humble, while also praising young defender Ayden Heaven's recent performances.

Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim believes the team has made progress in recent games, particularly in their ability to remain composed after conceding goals. This was evident in their 1-1 league draw against Arsenal and their 4-1 Europa League win over Real Sociedad, where they fought back from a goal down. Amorim attributed this progress to a better understanding of the team's game plan, saying, “I feel that in the last games that we can understand better the idea of what we want to do.”

Amorim elaborated on the team's improved understanding of the game plan, stating, “We are better understanding the plan for the games.” He noted that this has allowed the team to manage games more effectively, giving themselves more time to win or draw. Amorim also highlighted the team's improved composure, saying, “We are not suffering one goal and then losing our minds by suffering another goal.”

Amorim emphasized the importance of maintaining focus and avoiding complacency, given the unpredictable nature of football. “We are understanding the moments of the game and also we are understanding better the way we want to play... I know that in football, especially in our moment, we can have a really good moment and then drop really fast, so our focus is to continue and don't be too happy or too depressed.” He concluded by stressing the need for the team to “continue” and “survive,” saying, “My idea is to continue, we have to survive.”

Manchester United, currently 14th in the standings with 34 points from 28 matches, will aim to climb the table with a win against 19th-placed Leicester City on Sunday. Leicester has struggled, losing their last five league games. United manager Ruben Amorim emphasized the importance of maintaining momentum, saying, “Everything is important and we need to continue with this feeling that we can win games. It doesn't matter the time of rest or the time after to prepare for the next game.”

Amorim stressed the need for humility and focus, drawing on the team's recent performance against Arsenal. “We can do it. We showed against Arsenal that we have to be humble and we (often) forget that. Forget the table and face Leicester like we did against Real Sociedad.” He reiterated the team's primary objective: winning and improving their position in the table. “We just need to win and improve our position in the table and the most important thing is to continue this feeling of winning and that we are improving as a team.”

A vote of confidence for Mason from the boss 🫶#MUFC pic.twitter.com/lcOgkjxS7i

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 15, 2025

Amorim also praised 18-year-old defender Ayden Heaven, who has impressed in recent appearances since joining from Arsenal in February. “If he continues like that he is going to play. Of course, he is young and he didn't play much this season, maybe only 45 minutes for the Under-21s, then a few minutes here and now a full game,” Amorim said. He highlighted Heaven's confidence, pace, and defensive skills, noting that the young defender is “quite complete.” However, Amorim also acknowledged that Heaven has “a lot of work to do in the Premier League.”