Hard slog ahead as new United boss aware of huge task

Ipswich at Portman Road on Nov 24 is the beginning of the latest attempt to revive Manchester United, as Ruben Amorim mans the dugout after a lead time of almost a month.

- John Brewin

Ruud van Nistelrooy's spell in charge brought nostalgia and improvement, but the club can no longer look to the past.

Amorim was the hottest property around, give or take Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, and, at 39, is the youngest manager to take the reins since, in 1986, a 44-year-old Alex Ferguson travelled to another provincial club in Oxford United, and then lost his first game in charge.

It has been a fortnight of soft-focus images, the new manager exchanging manly hugs with his new charges. The word from inside the camp is that Amorim has found plenty to work with, that there is talent within the squad he inherits but a notable lack of the urgency his prescribed brand of football will require.