Ruben Amorim says Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes lacks trust in his own teammates after his Europa League heroics on Thursday.
Fernandes registered a fine performance in United’s last-16 second leg win over Real Sociedad, producing a hat-trick in a 4-1 triumph over the Spaniards.
The result means United have progressed with a 5-2 victory on aggregate and will next face French side Lyon in the Europa League quarter-finals.
Speaking after the match, United head coach Amorim declared that Fernandes ‘doesn’t trust his teammates’ despite his impressive showing.
‘It’s hard for a player like Bruno,’ Amorim told TNT Sports. ‘He wants to win really badly, sometimes too much.
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‘It’s not a bad thing, but sometimes he goes around different positions, he doesn’t trust his teammates. He can show that frustration, but he’s always there.
‘He’s a guy who can play one game and then will be ready to play in a different position. He can take set-pieces, score penalties, press high and play in transitions in the last 15 minutes of games.
‘Sometimes I need [someone in] this team someone to take the ball to the last third. I use Bruno, pushed him a little bit back.
‘[Ryan] Giggs was a player who came inside, I’m trying to think about the team and not Bruno.
‘Near the box, he’s so dangerous – he can assist and shoot. Sometimes we need him at No.8, No.10 and No.6!’
Former Manchester United midfielder and football pundit Paul Scholes heaped praise on Fernandes after the win over Real Sociedad.
‘Over this last six-to-seven weeks he’s been brilliant,’ Scholes said about the Portugal international midfielder.
‘He’s playing a bit deeper these days rather than that 10 role. He’s carrying this team to a little bit of success.’
Meanwhile, Fernandes spoke to TNT Sports himself after the match and admitted that United still have some way to go to get used to Amorim’s style of football.
‘You can see it at times [what Amorim wants],’ Fernandes said. ‘Not yet, but we’re making progress and that will be seen if we get results.
‘We want to perform better and play better, the manager wants us to improve the way we want to play.’
Fernandes’ first two goals came from the penalty spot before he added his third in the 87th minute with Alejandro Garnacho providing the assist.
Diogo Dalot capped off a fine performance late-on, making it 4-1 in added time to seal United’s spot in the last eight.
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