Ruben Amorim sings praises of ‘real star’ Roy Keane after Ed Sheeran incident
Ruben Amorim talked up Roy Keane (Bradley Collyer/PA)
Ruben Amorim laughed off pop star Ed Sheeran gatecrashing his interview at Ipswich as the Manchester United boss said Roy Keane was the “real star”.
The 39-year-old led the Red Devils to Portman Road on Sunday for his first match since succeeding Erik ten Hag as head coach.
Marcus Rashford’s early opener was cancelled out in the 1-1 draw at Ipswich, where Amorim’s live interview with Sky Sports after the game was interrupted by Sheeran.
The singer-songwriter walked into shot and began speaking to analyst Jamie Redknapp, leading the 33-year-old to post an apology on his Instagram story.
Asked if that incident showed how different life at United is to what he has dealt with before, Amorim said: “Yeah, here you are used to seeing that but in Portugal it is so different.
“I think you sometimes overcomplicate things. It was nothing.
“It was a simple question, or say hello to one of the commentators, so for me it was nothing.
“I just was thinking about the game, and I was with Roy Keane. Roy Keane is the real star in that panel! So, for me, it was really, really OK. It was nothing special.”
Amorim says he wants more goals from Marcus Rashford and his Manchester United team-mates as the new head coach looks to mark his maiden match in the Old Trafford dugout with a first win.
A manic month that started with the 39-year-old being named Erik ten Hag's successor ends with him leading the Red Devils out on home soil on Thursday against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League.
After the Ipswich draw, the Portuguese warned afterwards they will "suffer for a long period" as he attempts to implement his style on a team whose lack of cutting edge played a part in Ten Hag's exit.
"Of course there is a concern in that but I think we have to improve as a team," Amorim said.
"Because we have quality players who can score so many goals. But you can feel it in the second half (at Ipswich). We control possession of the ball but we were not dangerous.
"Maybe because we spend the week trying to work on build up and then the rest was not working.
"We will try to improve as a team and Rasmus (Hojlund), then Josh (Zirkzee) and Rash will score more goals, even Bruno (Fernandes) has to score more goals. Amad (Diallo) has to be better near the goal.
"All these guys need to improve, and we can score so many goals. You are trying to (ask) if I need a new striker to score goals. We need to improve as a team and these players can score more goals."
Homegrown forward Rashford is a case in point, having stumbled since scoring a career-best 30 goals in the 2022-23 campaign.
The 27-year-old has endured more downs than ups since then but has the trust of United's new manager, who had the England international leading the line at Portman Road.
"I will try to help him," Amorim said of Rashford, who has scored five goals in 19 appearances this term.
"That position is not the best one for him, especially in a game like that. We have to keep with high pressure, we have to kick the ball so many times and it was like fighting with two giants.
"We'll try to find the right solution for him, as for the other players. But it has to be Marcus, first of all, to try to return to that moment.
"Then he will have the help of all the staff, the club and the fans because he's a Manchester United boy. But he has to be the first one to really, really want it."
Rashford may well find himself on the bench on Thursday as Amorim plans to rotate against Bodo as he seeks to mastermind victory in front of the home fans for the first time.
"Everybody said to me that it will be a special time," he said with a smile.
"I just want to win the game, to give that happiness to the supporters. Before the match it will be like a new sensation but after the whistle it will be one more game and we want to win that match."
Asked about rotation against Bodo, Amorim said: "We have to do it, especially in this moment because we have a lot of games, and we are in the beginning of something.
"They have to feel that they are part of the team, so, they are international players, they will rotate.
"We will try to manage to try and win every game and not just focus on this game, have a clear idea of how to play and everybody has to be on the same page."
Amorim confirmed Lisandro Martinez is available to play against Bodo but fellow defender Harry Maguire is not back yet, nor is Leny Yoro.
The latter missed training on Wednesday as he did individual recovery work, as did Jonny Evans.
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