Ruben Amorim has no plans to wrap his Manchester United stars in cotton wool between now and the Europa League final, insisting ‘it’s better to play than to stay out’.
United are slumped down in 15th in the Premier League and must navigate games against West Ham and Chelsea before facing Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final on May 21.
Manchester United and Tottenham’s seasons hinge on that showpiece in Bilbao – but Amorim is against the idea of keeping his star names on the sidelines between now and then.
‘They will play because sometimes it’s better to play,’ Amorim explained.
‘What I will protect is the players that can get an injury. For example, Bruno, or the last game before Tottenham, but we moved the game to Friday, Chelsea, so we will have time to recover.
‘We want to be competitive also in the Premier League. Bruno doesn’t have the problem of (knocks table) any injury, but Harry [Maguire] has. So we will have to manage that, but they have to play. It’s better to play than to stay out.’
Ruben Amorim has decisions to make on which of his Man United players he chooses to rest
Amorim believes players like his captain Bruno Fernandes are better playing than sitting out
Amorim made eight changes between the two legs of their Europa League semi-final when they lost 4-3 away to Brentford.
While opportunities will arise for academy products such as Harry Amass, Tyler Fredricson and Chido Obi, Amorim wants to keep competition for places high by allowing his players to compete in the league.
‘Of course, they will fight for the places,’ he said.
‘They will be ready, excited, and that is the good thing, not just the final, but also to prepare the games of the Premier League, with something in our mind that we can win. It’s going to be massive.’
Amorim felt at Brentford that too many of his players already had one eye on the semi-final second leg, which United won 4-1 on the night against Athletic Club, and while the success of the season hinges on winning the Europa League, he has no desire to throw the remaining league games.
‘We cannot save nothing from the Premier League,’ he said, ‘but I think it’s a good thing for them [to play].
‘We will not have a lot of trainings. They will fight for a place in the final in these games.
Amorim is reluctant to throw league games between now and the final in Bilbao on May 21
‘I think against Brentford we had some mistakes. I felt that some of our players were thinking about this game. So we have to manage that.
‘But we also have to acknowledge that we are Manchester United. We need to win games also in the Premier League.
‘We have to use every game to improve, even to prepare for the final, but especially to prepare for the future.’
