Kobbie Mainoo played a key role in Man United’s 2-1 win against West Ham United in their opening pre-season tour game.
Mainoo started against West Ham
Ruben Amorim praised Kobbie Mainoo for his impact in Manchester United’s 2-1 pre-season win against West Ham United.
Mainoo lined up in midfield with Manuel Ugarte for United’s opening tour match in New Jersey and regained the ball to assist Bruno Fernandes for United’s winning goal in the 55th minute.
Amorim played Mainoo as a playmaker and trialled him up front in the 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in February but the 20-year-old could return to central midfield this season following the signings of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.
The United head coach admitted on Friday he is urging Mainoo to improve his “rhythm and pace” and the England international was restored to the starting XI, having been picked on the bench against Leeds United in Stockholm last week.
Fernandes got both of United’s goals against West Ham, having rejected an offer from a Saudi Pro League club to leave in the summer. It was while discussing his impact on the team that Amorim enthused about Mainoo’s performance.
“You can see it in the assists, the goals,” Amorim said of Fernandes. “Not just that. I think now he has more players. I felt that in the tour. I felt that now there are more players to help them to lead the group. That is a good thing.
“But he’s our leader, so it’s really important. Not just on the field, but also off the field. He lives by example. He works really hard. Always available. Sometimes he plays with pain.
“The problem is sometimes he gets frustrated and sometimes he loses a little bit the focus of his job. Sometimes he wants to help so much his teammates that sometimes it’s not the best thing to do.
“They have to learn. They have to do their job. Bruno has to wait for the ball in different situations. This kind of thing is a leader, but he needs help. And he’s going to have help.
“He has a function or a position for every game. It’s impossible to play all the positions. Last year I felt that sometimes I pushed him back to have more possession in the build-up and then we missed Bruno near the box. I think with different characteristics, with Cunha, with Bryan, I really like Kobbie’s game. I think he (Fernandes) will have more help this season.
“Bruno runs a lot. Maybe in the sprint he’s a different player, but he runs a lot. He has a lot of endurance. He’s smart. So it’s not about that.
“I spoke about that against Leeds because I felt like everybody in the midfield, the pace was not there. Today it was there. Manuel and Kobbie did that job.
“The physicality of Bruno is not the concern. He’s ready for the physicality, playing deep or as a midfielder.”