Diogo Dalot has backed Ruben Amorim to succeed at Manchester United because he has the right mentality to take on a big job.
Amorim has been confirmed as the next United boss and will take charge on November 11 after seeing out a brief notice period with Sporting Lisbon. He was United’s first choice to succeed Erik ten Hag, who was sacked on Monday to end a two-and-a-half-year stint in charge.
United believe they have landed one of the most exciting young coaches in Europe after paying €11million (£9.25m) to secure his release. Amorim has enjoyed a hugely successful period at Sporting, winning two league titles and two domestic cups while boasting a 70 per cent win ratio.
He attracted interest from Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City and held talks with West Ham over the summer. United full-back Dalot has kept a close eye on his compatriot’s career and is excited to begin working with him later this month.
“He’s obviously a fantastic coach, a young mentality but at the same time he knows what he wants,” Dalot told Sky Sports. “Very demanding, that’s what I can expect – and I think that’s the perfect match for a club like this. Standards are really high – he’s a person that you can see has really high standards and he stands by them, so I hope that can be a really good match and that we can win together, that’s what I wish the most.
“I think the Premier League really suits people from Portugal. We have this culture of trying to prove ourselves constantly and of fighting for a place because we come from a small country. It’s been all through the years, not just players but managers, coming to the Premier League and to England and being successful so I really hope it’s one more case. And I’m really excited to start working with him.”
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The United job comes with a huge amount of media scrutiny and external pressure, but Dalot has watched how Amorim has operated at Sporting and isn’t in the least bit concerned about how he’ll handle himself in the Old Trafford hotseat.
“It’s obviously different. He comes from a big club in Portugal but I really say, it almost quadruples the amount of exposure, intensity and pressure, but at Sporting he was more than able to deal with it so I’m sure he will be able to deal with that,” he said.
“We’re going to be a team, players, staff, managers, board, directors, everything, we’re going to be a team so we have to work with each other. And I'm sure we will help him in some way and he will help us.”
Amorim’s first match in charge will be against Ipswich on November 24, with Ruud van Nistelrooy continuing as interim manager for the next three matches against Chelsea, PAOK and Leicester before the international break.
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