Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim says his players will have to “run like mad dogs” if they are to have success under him.
Speaking to media in the embargoed section of yesterday’s press conference ahead of the visit of Nottingham Forest to Old Trafford, when asked about the need for his team to show desire or effort, Amorim said: "It's impossible to win the Premier League without a team like that; that fight - every moment, runs back, runs forward. It's impossible to win.
"If we want to win, we have to do it. Even with the best starting XI on the planet, without running, they will not win anything. It's very clear.
“If you want to win the Premier League, you have to run like mad dogs. If not, we are not going to do it, that is clear."
TV Info - Broadcasters
'Run more in training'
Amorim says he will look to address this physical aspect in training with his players.
“They cannot be faster but they can run more with training,” he told ManUtd.com. “We are in that path. We have to improve in training and then in games and they will be able to do it because every coach has a different way of pressing.
"Sometimes they use more a low block but some coaches want to press higher, and that changes the load of the players during the game. So they're able to do it if they do it in every single game and every single training."
Of the 20 Premier League teams, Man Utd rank 15th for distance run overall this season, with 1,507km covered by their players in the 14 matches so far.
Total distances covered by PL clubs 2024/25
| Team | Distance (km) | Team | Distance (km) |
| Bournemouth | 1,572.33 | Southampton | 1,529.58 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spurs | 1,566.25 | Arsenal | 1,524.07 |
| Brighton | 1,566.02 | West Ham | 1,520.06 |
| Ipswich | 1,563.87 | Liverpool | 1,516.91 |
| Brentford | 1,554.85 | Man Utd | 1,507.93 |
| Newcastle | 1,550.54 | Fulham | 1,504.00 |
| Everton | 1,542.28 | Aston Villa | 1,487.43 |
| Crystal Palace | 1,535.89 | Wolves | 1,485.51 |
| Leicester | 1,534.90 | Chelsea | 1,480.54 |
| Man City | 1,534.48 | Nott'm Forest | 1,461.41 |
There has yet to be any discernible rise in the distances covered by Man Utd's players in the three Premier League matches overseen by Amorim compared with his predecessors Erik ten Hag and interim head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy, as the table below shows.
Distances covered by Man Utd 2024/25
| Manager | Opp. | Distance (km) |
| Ten Hag | Fulham | 107.64 |
|---|---|---|
| Ten Hag | Brighton | 109.33 |
| Ten Hag | Liverpool | 108.48 |
| Ten Hag | Southampton | 109.13 |
| Ten Hag | Crystal Palace | 104.83 |
| Ten Hag | Spurs | 110.92 |
| Ten Hag | Aston Villa | 100.54 |
| Ten Hag | Brentford | 116.11 |
| Ten Hag | West Ham | 109.20 |
| Van Nistelrooy | Chelsea | 105.46 |
| Van Nistelrooy | Leicester | 106.69 |
| Amorim | Ipswich Town | 108.04 |
| Amorim | Everton | 107.16 |
| Amorim | Arsenal | 104.40 |
Amorim has added that he is seeking improvement from his players after he suffered his first loss since being appointed at Man Utd, in the 2-0 midweek defeat to Arsenal.
When asked about the scale of the job he has at Old Trafford, Amorim answered: "I think that is very clear. We are a massive club but not a massive team and we know it. It's not a problem to say it. We want to improve in a different moment from Arsenal but you can see it during the game.
"I think we have to believe more. We were not dominant in the game but in control. There were not so many chances for Arsenal - of course, a lot of set-pieces but we were okay, especially in the first half. So we had some good things in that moment but you can see that there is still much to do. We need to be better in the final third and create more danger. They have to feel it.
"I felt Arsenal had problems to block our build-up but, when they were defending their goal, it was quite comfortable for them. It's learning these things and trying to improve in two days."
