Ruben Amorim is still optimistic about Manchester United’s prospects this season. Photo: AFP
MANCHESTER:
Ruben Amorim is still optimistic about Manchester United’s prospects this season despite ending a torrid 2025 with a lacklustre 1-1 draw at home to strugglers Wolves.
Rob Edwards’ side arrived at Old Trafford on a run of 11 successive Premier League defeats, the Midlands club firmly at the foot of the table with a mere two points from 18 matches.
But they left Old Trafford with a third point of the campaign after Joshua Zirkzee’s deflected opener for United was cancelled out by Ladislav Krejci in a draw that took place just three weeks after Amorim’s men won 4-1 at Molineux.
Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount scored in that match but were among eight absentees for sixth-placed United, who are two points behind reigning English champions Liverpool — who have a game in hand – in the race for the final guaranteed Champions League spot.
“I’m really confident,” said United manager Amorim at the half-way stage point of the season. “We just need to recover all the players, and I’m really confident.
“I don’t know what is going to happen until the end of the season. Then we will make the resume of the season.”
Nevertheless, the 40-year-old Portuguese boss added: “But I’m really confident when we recover all the players that we are going to be a strong team. There is no doubts in my mind.”
United’s first match of 2026 is away to longstanding bitter rivals Leeds on Sunday, with Amorim saying he is “not going to risk anyone” by making existing injury issues worse.
But the Red Devils would dearly loke some inspiration that was missing against Wolves, with Amorim replacing goalscorer Zirkzee — who came in for the injured Mount — at half-time to bring on teenager Jack Fletcher.
Amorim confirmed the decision was “just tactical”, saying: “We need to do what the game was asking.
“We were struggling, they put a lot of men in the middle of the park, and with Jack we balanced that. I think we recover the ball faster in the in the second half.
“In the first half, we struggled a little bit to recover the ball, so I’m just looking not for their age and the experience. In this moment, I just look what I can do to win the game.”
United reverted to Amorim’s favoured three-man defence having previously won with a back four and Wolves boss Rob Edwards was proud of his side after they secured a first point since he took charge last month.
“It’s nice to take something from the game,” Edwards said ahead of Saturday’s match against fellow strugglers West Ham. “I do feel it’s the least we deserve. I do. It’s progress. Overall, it was a really good performance.”
