Manchester United may have a grand vision to win the Premier League title in three years’ time, but manager Ruben Amorim said on Friday that the club may not be title contenders in the next couple of years unless major changes are made.
United are on course for their worst Premier League finish with the club 13th in the standings after 30 games and Amorim’s task does not get any easier with a derby against Manchester City on Sunday.
Amid the dire run, the club’s ownership announced a plan to bring the title back to Old Trafford in three years to celebrate United’s 150th anniversary, but Amorim said a lot of work needs to be put into the squad to become genuine contenders.
“I understand and I am not naive. I don’t want to think we need a lot of years to be competitive. I cannot think like that… I know that we are not going to be the biggest contender in the next year or two years,” Amorim told reporters.
“We are doing a lot of things. Sometimes we changed players because they have had to learn how to adjust to our new standards… We have changed a lot of staff, we have changed things inside the club.
“I know that is going to take time. I will not say we need a lot of years… Next year is our goal. I am not saying we are going to win the title in the next year, I am not crazy. We are in a rush, we are suffering a lot to be better next year.”
Amorim said the club needs to bring in “one or two big players” but the Portuguese knows that in this day and age, with patience wearing thin among fans and club owners, time will not be on his side.
“The Premier League is so different. When everyone says (former United manager) Sir Alex Ferguson took three or four years to win something, it’s not possible nowadays,” he added.
“The pressure is completely different… No matter the context, we need to be there with the best teams. We will have to face a lot of adversity and big teams, more than in the past.”
For now, Amorim’s focus is on City, who his team beat 2-1 in December’s reverse fixture, a result he does not consider a highlight even though the shock win came early in his United tenure.
“I don’t see one win as a special moment. Special moments are to be competitive and win titles. Even in the third division, you can beat the best team in the country,” he said.
“We want to improve (our position) in the league table and especially we want to win games. We are going to have full focus on this game.”
