Solna (Sweden), July 20 (IANS) Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has emphasised the need for greater pace and improvements in the team’s midfield as the club kicked off their pre-season with a scoreless draw against Leeds United.

Following a disappointing 2024-25 Premier League campaign – where United ended a historic low 15th in the table and missed out on Champions League qualification after a narrow 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final – Amorim acknowledged there is much work to be done.

He highlighted the urgency for increased dynamism in midfield, making clear the squad must evolve if they are to bounce back from last season’s setbacks.

Despite the inclusion of new signing Matheus Cunha in the starting lineup, Manchester United failed to impress in their draw against newly promoted Leeds in Stockholm on Saturday.

“We suffered a little bit when we tried to press high, they kick the ball, win the second ball and they were a danger in that moment,” Amorim told MUTV.

“We have a lack of pace, especially in the middle of the park, and you can feel it, (so) that’s hard to bring the ball (forward). But we created chances. We have a lot to do but it was a first test against a Premier League team, with two different teams, so it was a good test…”

“As a group, we have a lot to improve, the speed of the game, all the details, so, yeah, we are going to improve.”

Of course, pre-season also brings the opportunity to bring the squad together for an extended period before the league campaign begins in earnest, and that was recognised by Ruben, who is happy with the feeling within his group of players.

“I felt the environment is really good, of course sometimes we’re going to struggle, but what I feel since the first moment is we are going to struggle, but we struggle together and that is the beginning of everything. And then we have to put the quality because this club is not just about the effort, it’s the quality and you have to win games,” he added.

United next play West Ham United at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 27.

–IANS

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