'I don’t want to change'- Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim fires back at former PL boss; defiance clear for all to see

“Maybe it’s true if we play 4-4-2. We won more games, but I always said that I have a way of playing that is going to take a while, but in the future, it’s going to be better. So we don’t know that.”

“If you are a pundit and you don’t say very strong things, I don’t want to watch you! I’m the same. So I can understand that it’s a completely different job.”

“I know that Sean Dyche is really smart, and he knows how to play the game.”

“And he also understands that one thing is when we are seeing the game and talking about the game, the other thing is to coach a team. So I understand that, I have nothing to say, I just want to win the next game.”

“I don’t want to change.”

Quote via Manchester Evening News

However, Forest’s new manager, Dyche, faces injuries to Chris Wood, Ola Aina, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Dilane Bakwa but plans to exploit the gaps critics often highlight in Amorim’s setup. With Lisandro Martinez returning to training but still not ready, United must defend firmly without their Argentine leader yet again.

Should Amorim bend or hold firm?

For United fans, this argument runs deeper than a tactical tweak. It questions whether Amorim’s stubbornness hides brilliance or blind faith. The 3-4-2-1 makes sense—three centre-backs balance the defence, wing-backs stretch the width, and two attacking midfielders move between lines.

When players execute it well, the system controls possession and smothers opponents, but the weaknesses often come to the surface. Aggressive teams overrun the central midfield, which relies on a double pivot. The lone striker sometimes drifts alone and lacks service. We can even cite Grimsby Town’s disciplined pressing in the Carabao Cup earlier this season as proof that his structure can grow predictable.

Argument for a 4-4-2 formation

Some might argue that switching to a 4-4-2 fixes these flaws. The shape will suit United’s natural full-backs and cover midfield spaces better. In the short term, Dyche might be proven right as it could bring quick results, but Amorim is hell bent beyond instant fixes. He believes his system will grow into something sustainable, and by nature, the Portuguese manager is quite adamant. So, with these recent three wins, it has become quite clear that he will either live by it or die by it; there will be no two ways about it.

He said earlier this month, “I don’t want to change,”  when reporters asked about his philosophy during United’s rough patch. That conviction matches what Michael Carrick recently said about  Casemiro thriving again after Amorim made small positional tweaks. His adjustments show how he is indeed adapting without discarding his principles.

A 4-4-2 might look tempting, but Amorim is looking to build his football at United on his belief, not convenience. If he succeeds, he will do it because he trusted his plan long enough to make it work, and perhaps United need that most: a manager who believes more in progress than the noise around him.