Press high and stop losing the ball - Ruben Amorim outlines how he will get Man Utd playing the way he wants and warns players he knows 'every trick'

The Ruben Amorim era is all set to officially kick off at United on Sunday as they face Ipswich Town in an away fixture in the Premier League. The Portuguese coach, who took the reins from Erik ten Hag, has his talks cut out at Old Trafford; however, the manager remains confident that he can implement his ideas and playing style in the team.

Speaking to Gary Neville on Sky Sports, the former Sporting CP boss said, "First thing, I think we have to be better athletes. That is something that you can acknowledge when we are here and we see the data. When I say fitter, it's not being thinner or anything about that. It's the data. You have to understand the data to press high, what is the average metres that you have to run, the sprints.

"You have all this data and you have to cope with that. So you already know your goal is to reach that. You can run a lot but if you don't understand the game, it doesn't matter. But the first point to press high, you have to be very fit and you have to cope with the demands of pressing high. The problem is with the ball. I think we lose the ball too fast. We win the ball, we lose the ball. And you cannot press high all the time. With the ball, we can press better. So the focus this week also was in that part. If you don't lose the ball, you can push higher. If you are higher, you can press better. So it's like a snowball. Everything is connected."

Further speaking on his expectations from his players, the 39-year-old also revealed that he will demand full commitment to the team. He added, "You can say the pretty things like hard work, be professional. You should be. This is Manchester United. In every club [you should be] but here, of course, you cannot run from that. The aim is to think first in the team. So I know that some guys will sometimes play in a different position, but they have to understand the position and they have to fight for the team.

"As a former player, I know every trick. I can understand the players. I can understand what they are doing, why they are doing it. If they are doing it for the team, I will defend them until the end. "I can lose my job before throwing a player under the bus. But if he doesn't put the team in first place, I will be the first one to talk with the player."

After the Ipswich clash this weekend, the ex-Portugal international will manage the Red Devils for the first time in the Europa League on Thursday against FK Bodo/Glimt.