Ruben Amorim backs two Manchester United players to 'improve a lot' after Tottenham defeat

Ruben Amorim believes there is a lot more to come from Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu after they both impressed during Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

United faced an injury crisis for their trip to North London, with 12 players ruled out through a combination of injury and illness, while eight of their substitutes had never made a competitive appearance for the club before. Amorim named four changes to the starting line up from the side that defeated Leicester in the FA Cup earlier in the month but was limited with what else he could do in the match.

January signing Dorgu impressed in only his second appearance since he arrived, while Zirkzee put in one of his best displays since he joined the club last summer. The duo will both be important to United while they cope with the injury crisis and Amorim believes they both have a lot more to give.

Ruben Amorim backs duo to get even better

Speaking after the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday, Amorim praised Zirkzee and Dorgu for their respective displays and backed the duo to get even better for United.

“I think Josh is not a clear nine, he played more as a 10. He’s stronger physically, he’s thinner, he’s working really hard and he played in a better position for him and he’s improving, he’s winning more duels, he’s even faster, and you feel it in the game. That helped us to make the decision. Dorgu: the way Tottenham press really high, sometimes you have more time to think than the other games. He played on the left also, he has experience to play left and right. Dorguy will improve a lot and Josh the same thing.”

Ange Postecoglou has little sympathy

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has had to cope with own injury crisis so far this season, but admits he has little sympathy for Amorim despite his relatable struggles. Speaking after the 1-0 win for his side, he added: "If I check my office, I don’t have any sympathy cards from other managers, so that hasn’t happened. There’s definitely a few. I could see Ruben there, players out of position, kids on the bench. Well, welcome to my world. But that's for one game. Now do that for two months. Do that for two months. Any club. Do that for two months. I thought Man United were good today, considering all that, and we had our days when we were good, we beat Liverpool in this spell."

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