Ruben Amorim has described himself as "the right guy for the right moment" when speaking at his first press conference as Manchester United's new head coach.
The Portuguese was appointed as Erik ten Hag's successor on 1 November, before starting work 10 days later at the beginning of the international break.
Amorim's first match - away to Ipswich Town on Sunday - is now imminent, and Friday's media briefing enabled him to express his self-belief.
"I'm a little bit of a dreamer," he said. "I believe in myself. I believe in the club, we have the same mindset.
"I truly believe in the players. I know you [the media] don't believe a lot but I do. I want to try new things. You guys don't think it's possible but I do.
"Call me naive, but I truly feel that I am the right man in the right moment. I could be wrong but the earth will turn and the sun will rise again, it doesn't matter, and I am not worried about that.
"I truly believe that I am the right guy for this job."
Acknowledging his predecessors
Amorim is the sixth man to take charge of Man Utd on a permanent basis since Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012/13 season after winning the club's 13th Premier League title.
None of the previous five have been able to mount a sustained title challenge, although one of them - Jose Mourinho - did lead the team to second place behind runaway champions Manchester City in 2017/18.
"We need a lot of time because it is a great league, the strongest league in the world, and we have to improve a lot in order to try to win it," admitted Amorim.
"What I can say is that we have to win games and, in time, then win titles.
"I think we have to improve the physical aspect of the team, it is something that we want to improve. I do not know how long it will take.
"You have had different types of coaches here, the guys that won everything like [Louis] van Gaal and [Jose] Mourinho. The new ones that know the club inside and out, like [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer, and then one of the best managers there ever will be outside of the top-five strongest leagues, in [Erik] ten Hag.
"We have to acknowledge we need time, but we also have to win games, and that is it. You have different types of coaches, same result. We will try to do it in our way."
Mourinho's message
Amorim has revealed he has received some encouraging words from Mourinho, his compatriot, ahead of his first match.
"He sent me a message - 'it’s a big club, lovely club with lovely people' - and he’s correct, it still is," said the new head coach. "I’ve had a lot of help, I feel at home.
"We are building a new club. There’s so much to do, not just coaching the team. There are a lot of departments, you feel it's a global club.
"It’s the best club in England. We want to win, that’s all."
Setting up for Sunday
There has been much conjecture as to how Amorim will set up the team for his first match against Ipswich, given he is renowned for a different formation to the 4-2-3-1 that is most familiar to Man Utd's players.
The new head coach has used 3-4-3 at his previous clubs, including Sporting where he won two Primeira Liga titles in 2020/21 and 2023/24.
"The football is not so different with five at the back, four at the back, three at the back," insisted Amorim at his press conference.
"It’s not evolution or revolution, it’s a change in the way we play football.
"We will adapt some players because we don’t have the right profiles as this squad was set up for a different system.
"When you see the team on Sunday, it will be similar players, but in the game it will be different."
