Ruben Amorim gives candid verdict after seeing Kobbie Mainoo’s work at Carrington

Mainoo has clocked just 228 minutes so far this season.

United face Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, looking for an away win that would move them ahead of Thomas Frank’s side in the Premier League standings.

Amorim’s line-up choice for the upcoming match is still unknown, following the draw with Forest, which saw the team stretch their unbeaten run to four matches.

Mainoo may still find it tough to break into the team, but recent comments from Amorim should give him some encouragement.

During an interview with beIN SPORTS, the Portuguese coach discussed both sides of playing one match per week, highlighting that it also limits opportunities for squad rotation.

He specifically mentioned Joshua Zirkzee and Mainoo as players impacted by this schedule.

While United are using every available minute on the training ground to improve, fewer fixtures also bring challenges in keeping everyone satisfied with their roles.

Amorim also noted that although Mainoo has been doing well in training and ‘deserves’ minutes, he is currently pleased with how Fernandes and Casemiro are performing.

“But then you have the other side.

“I see Kobbie Mainoo training today and he deserves to play, but then I have to take one guy that is playing really well.

“We should have played yesterday in the Carabao Cup because I need to see Kobbie Mainoo playing. I need to see Joshua, all these guys. They deserve to play but, in the end, with one game you need to make choices.

“So, we have both sides, but we are taking advantage of the good side of not playing in the middle of the week,” Amorim stated.

Kobbie Mainoo still chasing first win against Spurs

Mainoo has come up against Tottenham four times in his career so far, but he has yet to record a win over them.

He will be hoping for more game time this weekend than he managed in the Europa League final defeat to Spurs back in May, though another start seems unlikely with Amorim sticking to the Fernandes and Casemiro partnership.

It will be the first meeting between these sides since that loss in Bilbao. And with last season’s results still fresh in the memory, United will be out to set things right after losing all four encounters against Spurs across all competitions.