'Really pleased' - Ruben Amorim praises four Manchester United stars after Newcastle win

Ruben Amorim praised four Manchester United players in particular after his side held on to defeat Newcastle 1-0 in the Premier League on Boxing Day.

Patrick Dorgu scored the only goal of the game as a depleted United secured a valuable three points and only their second clean sheet of the campaign. Amorim was without seven senior players for the match and suffered another fitness scare when Mason Mount was replaced at half-time by teenage midfielder Jack Fletcher.

United will face a very different test when they host Wolves in the Premier League early next week and Amorim will hope to see the similar fight and spirit that was so crucial to their three points on Friday night. Speaking after the game, the United head coach admitted his side were fortunate at times but he also praised the individual contributions that helped them on their way to victory.

Amorim praises four United players

Ruben Amorim specifically praised the contributions of Ayden Heaven, Lisandro Martinez, Manuel Ugarte and Patrick Dorgu as his side held on for a precious three points against Newcastle United. “I am really pleased with Ayden,” he said in his post-match press conference. “You can feel that he is improving every game. He is young but you can feel that he has a good game and then slows the thinking. No, you feel he improves during the game. He trained really well. If he continues to play like that, it is going to be really hard to take his place.”

Dorgu netted his maiden goal in a United shirt to give his side the win, and he was also praised by the head coach for his role in the win. Amorim added: “It is the normal life of a player, sometimes you are in the good moments, sometimes you struggle, sometimes depends on the team or the game, Maybe the game today with a lot of transitions is good for his ability to drive with the ball. I think he did well. “

Lisandro Martinez shone on his first United start since his lengthy injury lay-off and he also earned praise from Amorim for his performance. “He is a guy with a lot of character. He is really good on the ball,. He won World Cup, he is used to that stress but he showed today he is a top player. He is a small guy but today he did well against a team with tall players,” said Amorim.

The final praise went to Manuel Ugarte, who produced one of his best performances for the club in a match where his side only recorded 33% percent possession and were not required to breakdown their opponents. He told Sky Sports: “Even Manu [Ugarte], I think Manu did a very good game today. They need to understand you can have a good day and the next day can be worse, and you have to deal with that and train well and go forward."

Manchester United player ratings: 8/10 trio 'excellent' and six 7/10s 'huge improvement' in Newcastle win