'No matter what' - Ruben Amorim remaining loyal to system despite dire results as he explains first meeting with Man Utd hierarchy

The Portuguese is facing his most difficult period yet after United failed to win either of their first two Premier League games of the season and then suffered one of the most embarrassing results of their entire history when they exited the Carabao Cup at the hands of fourth division Grimsby Town. But despite the problems he is encountering Amorim will not use an alternative to the tactical shape he has used throughout his coaching career.

Antonio Conte is the only manager to win the Premier League playing a 3-4-3 formation and although Oliver Glasner has had success with the shape at Crystal Palace and Vitor Pereira got good results playing in the same style with Wolves last season, the coaches, like Amorim, are outliers. Amorim has won just seven of his 29 league matches and the terrible display at Grimsby showed the limits of playing it even against lower league opposition. The coach, however, said that he told United's hierarchy he could make the system work when he was interviewed for the job last year and insisted he still feels that way.

"They asked me, before I arrived can you play this system? I will say, I will do my system no matter what," Amorim told a press conference. "If it's okay for you, it's okay. And then in the future, I could change. I could wake up in one morning and say, I understand that for my idea of football, it's better to change right away. I just want to win. But if I'm going to change because something is not working and I don't believe, players will understand. This guy is telling you one thing, he's not believing in the other thing. So it's not about the system. We lost against Grimsby about the system? In the first half, I didn't know the system. So, it’s not the system."

Amorim revealed that he had never played in a 3-4-3 formation during his playing career, either at club or international level. But he said it was not an inflexible shape and explained it can be tweaked to suit different scenarios. He said: "I played all my life in the 4-4-2, 4-3-3. The only system that I didn't play one minute was 3-4-3. So I know all the systems. I just have one idea that we need to be so good in this way of playing, then we are going to adapt. It's like some coaches have a mentality that I'm going to put this system, and then I'm going to change. What I'm thinking is that we have one system that is going to adapt to different systems, and then when everyone is doing this with his eyes shut, I'm going to change a lot of things."

Amorim clarified he would not be quitting as United boss despite saying at Grimsby "something needs to change and you cannot change 22 players". He said: "I don't know what is going to happen but that  [staying in charge] is my idea. But again, I am not going to promise you nothing, what is going to be the future. But I'm the manager of Manchester United and I think that is not going to change."