Rúben Amorim under pressure after Man United’s slow Premier League start

But without midweek fixtures piling up, Amorim is looking to use that extra time on the training ground to his advantage.

The United manager has repeated his view that more preparation time will benefit his squad, admitting they weren’t ready for the demands of European football last season.

Speaking after the Fulham draw, he said: “It’s a normal thing that happens in other clubs. I think we were not prepared to play Europe; that is my feeling, to have strong games in the Champions League and then play Premier League.”

“We need time to develop as a team. So, they just need to fight for the places, and then everything can change. Sometimes one is playing; in other moments, other guys are going to play. We have the cups, so we’re going to have a lot of games for everybody.”

Amorim believes having fewer matches this season will help him build something more lasting at Old Trafford.

He added: “Yeah, I said that last season. We need time to prepare every game. The games are really competitive, and we need time to build a base and then move forward. And we’ll reach one moment where we need to have Europe for everybody to play games.”

Altay Bayindir’s mixed performance against Fulham

Altay Bayindir’s display against Fulham raised a few questions, even if he wasn’t directly responsible for the goal Manchester United conceded in the 1-1 draw.

The Turkish goalkeeper looked uncomfortable dealing with corners throughout the match, often struggling under pressure inside his own box. But he did manage to pick out Matheus Cunha with a long ball early on, showing some positive moments despite his overall struggles.

Amorim has come to Bayindir’s defence, pointing out that set-piece situations are a regular source of chances in every Premier League game.

Speaking after the match, Amorim said: “Yeah, we are trying everything. But again, I know that you are focused a lot on the opponent’s corners, but if you remember this game – it was 10, 20 minutes ago – we had our chances. And we scored one goal [from] set pieces, we had a penalty, we had at least one in the end near the post.

“And you can see every game in the Premier League, tell me one game you didn’t see a big occasion from corners. So I think that will happen in every game.”