'We need to be bulletproof' - Ruben Amorim insists his Manchester United side will never break historic record
Man Utd face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and Ruben Amorim has explained his team selection.
Ruben Amorim has reiterated he doesn’t want to be the manager to end Manchester United’s incredible record of naming an academy graduate in their first-team squad.
United have named an academy graduate in every men's first-team squad since 1937, and will extend the record to 4,333 matches with the inclusion of Jack Fletcher against Tottenham. The record appeared to be at risk when Kobbie Mainoo suffered an injury in midweek, but he has been replaced in the matchday squad by teenager Fletcher.
The 18-year-old was named on the bench seven times last season but has yet to make his senior debut for the club. Veteran goalkeeper Tom Heaton was the only other candidate to extend the record, but he has been left out of the final match-day squad against Spurs. Amorim is eager to keep the record alive during his reign, but doesn’t want to hand out senior roles for players who wouldn’t otherwise warrant them.
United extend incredible record
Manchester United have made three changes to their starting line up to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime. Harry Maguire, Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu come into the side, with Leny Yoro, Diogo Dalot and Benjamin Sesko replaced. It means Matheus Cunha leads the line in attack, while Jack Fletcher is on the bench.
Asked about the academy record ahead of kick-off, head coach Ruben Amorim told TNT Sports: "It's really important. I think, again, we are in the moment, if we are going to take some corners to have succeed right away, it's a wrong thing.
"There are some things, especially in our club, that we need to be bulletproof. It's the way we behave, the way we feel the club, and all these small things, like, we are not going to stop with this, with the academy player. It doesn't matter the results, it doesn't matter anything else, we need to continue with these small details that are the foundations of our club.
"So, we have that record, we are not going to break that record, and Jack [Fletcher] is ready to help us. So, we put two things together, to show the people that our academy is also our future, to show the players on our Academy they need to be ready, because we are going to need them at some points, and then that Jack is ready to help us."