Ruben Amorim says Antony and Scott McTominay are likely benefitting from being ‘more free’ and playing ‘without pressure’ away from a club of Manchester United’s stature.
Antony completed a six-month loan move to Real Betis in the January transfer window having failed to live up to his £82million price tag across an immensely underwhelming start to his Old Trafford career.
The 24-year-old winger managed just one goal in all competitions for United in the first half of the campaign but has hit the ground running in Spain, netting twice in his first three games for Betis.
The Brazilian’s superb long-range strike in Betis’ Europa Conference League win over Gent on Thursday night had United fans scratching their heads and wondering whether their club as a whole that was the main problem.
It’s been a similar story for Scott McTominay since the midfielder’s £25million switch to Napoli last summer, with the Scotland international quickly establishing himself as a fan favourite at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
McTominay has proven himself to be a significant goal threat in Serie A, hitting the target six times while registering two assists for Antonio Conte’s side in the Italian top flight this season.
‘Sometimes it’s like that, it can happen in any club,’ Amorim replied when asked why both Antony and McTominay had thrived to such a degree since departing the Theatre of Dreams.
‘This is a club with a lot of pressure. At this kind of club you have to have a base of a team to put the younger players, talented players that came from abroad, that come to a team that has one strong base that can help them to cope with that pressure.
‘We don’t have that in this moment so it’s really hard on them and you feel it on [Patrick] Dorgu, he was a little bit nervous in the first moment.
‘But if you are playing better as a team, you have a strong core that can cope with this, are winning games and are really strong in the games like it’s supposed to be at this kind of club, it will be more easy for these kind of players to be free to play their football.
The United head coach added: ‘Football is like that.
‘When you reach that level you need to be able to cope with the pressure.
‘Sometimes they go to other clubs and they are more free without pressure and they play better.’
Amorim is hoping the short break will have done his players good ahead of their trip to Tottenham in the Premier League this weekend.
‘It was good to work with the team, to feel the players and to try to improve our performance,’ the Portuguese continued.
‘Every game until the end of the season is a big game for us. We need to improve the way we play football but, especially, we need to win.
‘No matter what, we need to win. For that to happen we need to improve the way we play football.’
Both managers have found themselves in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons after wretched starts to the season, but Amorim believes he is under ‘bigger pressure’ than Ange Postecoglou.
Asked if he has sympathy for the under-fire Spurs boss, Amorim replied: ‘Of course, especially because he is a good guy.
‘He’s a very good coach. He wants to play football in the right way, for me that is a good thing.
‘When we choose this profession there is a lot of good things but then you have to feel that pressure when you don’t win.’
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