“Not me” - Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim says who was behind new Old Trafford arrival

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim says athletics coach Harry Marra has been brought to the club to help consult the coaching staff rather than as a coach for the Red Devils squad.

Marra is a world-renowned track and field coach and Amorim has explained his arrival is to teach the staff about improving running techniques rather than to coach the United players. Marra has coached two-time Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton and Olympic heptathlon medalist Brianne Theisen.

According to The Athletic, Marra has been at Carrington to offer his expert knowledge on the best way for players to cover ground quickly while maintaining stamina. He will remain at the club for a few weeks and work closely with United’s interim performance director Sam Erith.

Amorim discusses Marra appointment

The United boss admitted in his press conference ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash with FCSB that the decision to bring Marra to the club was not a decision made by him but rather by those above him.

He said: "It was not me, it was the club. We are always trying to bring experienced people to share the knowledge with the staff and to understand the body and how we can improve our players. It was not me, it's not something new, he's not there to coach the team, it's more to coach the staff about the running et cetera. It's a simple thing we are used to doing to improve as a club."

Amorim is keen for his side to run like “mad dogs” as he believes it will be fundamental to progress. Speaking in December he said: “Even with the best starting XI on the planet, without running, they will not win anything. It’s very clear. If you want to win the Premier League, you have to run like mad dogs. If not, we are not going to do it, that is clear.”

What next for United?

United are in Europa League action against FCSB on Thursday as they seek to avoid dropping out of the top eight. The Red Devils are on course to secure immediate passage to the round of 16 but if they drop to ninth or lower they will need to go through a play-off.

On the benefits of avoiding a two-legged play-off tie, Amorim said: "It's always important, just the feeling of winning. It's really important when you have the situation of the play-offs. It's massive for us as we can clear one, two weeks without any game in the middle of the week. That is really important in this moment. Like I've said, the first thing is win the game and we need to improve the performance. We need to see our players perform to understand in each position they are better to play. So we have a lot to improve and we have to use every game and every training to see that."

In other news, Manchester United could be without just three senior players due to injury when they face FCSB in the Europa League.