Ruben Amorim told worrying amount of time it'll take him to embed his own style at Man Utd ahead of opening game in charge - with new boss 'stunned' by poor performances in first training sessions

The newly-appointed Manchester United manager has been cautioned that his journey to instill a new identity at the club will be anything but smooth. Amorim has reportedly been "stunned" by the apparent lack of sharpness in training and had to repeatedly urge players to increase their intensity. He believes that the squad is both overstocked and lacks individuals suited to his high-energy 3-4-3 system.

Former Manchester United assistant coach, Rene Meulensteen, has weighed in on the challenges Amorim faces and noted that while the manager has the potential to turn things around at Old Trafford, the gestation period might take more than a year.

Speaking to TribalFootball.com, Meulensteen opined: "Amorim has plenty of charisma, he has the tactical acumen and he’s done the right things in saying that he wants to create a strong identity at Manchester United. Whether he will be a long-term success at the club, only time will tell, but I do know that it will take about 18 months to get his style embedded into the team. He knows that it’s all about performances and results whether you are an experienced manager or a young manager."

One of Amorim's immediate obstacles is the limited time he has had to work with the full squad. With several key players only returning from international duty this week, preparation for the Ipswich match has been compressed. And Meulensteen believes the adaptation to Amorim’s tactics will be complex and cumbersome.

"The first hurdle for Ruben Amorim at Manchester United will be implementing his new system so that everyone knows their individual roles and responsibilities; that won’t happen overnight," he said.

"He needs to work at it on and off the pitch, back that up with footage but he hasn’t had long to work with the players following the international break. It's going to be interesting to see what kind of system he's going to play against Ipswich, whether he straight away goes in as he means to carry on or eases the players into it.

"It’ll take a little bit of time before the players get used to it and therefore you might not get the performances and the results straight away. But I do think he’ll be very clear in terms of what he wants to do. What I'm saying is that he must understand very, very quickly how he can make the system work with these players in such a strong league as the Premier League. That's the biggest challenge."

United’s current position in the Premier League further underscores the magnitude of Amorim’s challenge. The Red Devils sit in 13th place, with just four wins from their opening 11 games. The Ipswich match presents an opportunity for United to start climbing the table, but it will also serve as an early test of Amorim's ability to translate his ideas into results.