Manchester United: Ruben Amorim sends ominous warning to stars about his alter ego ahead of Ipswich match | Football | Sport

New Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has vowed to take a two-pronged approach at Old Trafford, becoming a cheerful but uncompromising leader of the club.

The promising 39-year-old showed a bit of Jose Mourinho’s notorious charisma upon his arrival, calling himself “The Smiler” in contrast to Mourinho’s nickname “The Special One”.

However, despite his brilliant outlook on life, Amorim is prepared to stand up to the Red Devils superstars if their performances do not live up to expectations.

Ahead of Sunday’s match against Ipswich Town, Amorim made no effort to outline his philosophy.

He said: “You can be a positive person who understands that there are places to have fun and places to work hard.

“So I can be ruthless when necessary. But if you think as a team, I’ll be the nicest guy you’ve ever seen.”

“I’m not the guy who thinks to myself, ‘I’m going to be a different person,’ and I’m not the guy who wants to show off that he’s the boss.

“I think they (the players) will feel it in the little things – that I can smile – but when we have a job, I will be a different person. And they understand that.”

Amorim arrived at United amid Erik ten Hag’s recent comparative shortcomings and the huge implications for the transfer budget.

And the former Sporting kingpin knows that expectations are high and that time is of the essence, as evidenced by his relatively short two-and-a-half-year contract.

His first test comes against Ipswich at Portman Road, managed by Kieran McKenna, who knows many United players from his time as an assistant under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Amorim has made it clear that he will be calling the shots in the transfer market, although the club have informed him that the budget may be tight.

Amid concerns about United’s potential limitations in the market, the new boss has vowed to uphold the club’s storied tradition of nurturing home-grown talent.

“This (young players) is a Manchester United project. Today we need young guys, guys from the academy, to bring this history of the club,” explained Amorim.

“They treat the club differently, but also because they have all these financial fair play rules.

“A player from our academy is so different from the players we buy or sell. Everything is connected, so I will try to help all the players, especially the young ones.”