New Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has been told he needs to move away from his 3-4-3 system if he wants to be successful in the Premier League.

Amorim had great success with that tactic during his time at Sporting, guiding them to two league title wins in four-and-a-half years at the club, and he is looking to replicate that at Old Trafford.

In his first game in charge against Ipswich on Sunday, Amorim used that formation with Amad Diallo used as a wing-back and Noussair Mazraoui playing as the third centre-back. United got off to a flying start as Marcus Rashford put them in front in the second minute after a brilliant run from Amad.

However, Ipswich equalised thanks to a stunning long-range strike from Omari Hutchinson and both teams had to settle for a point. And former Premier League midfielder Danny Murphy has questioned Amorim's tactics, stating on Match of the Day: "I'd be amazed if they were still playing a 3-4-3 in a year's time.

"This league's very, very different from continental leagues. We've only had Chelsea, in recent years, win playing that system and let's be honest, they had [N'Golo] Kante and [Nemanja] Matic.

"Two wonderful defensive midfielders in the middle of the pitch and [Diego] Costa up top with [Eden] Hazard supporting him and helping him as well. They don't have those players yet and how do you find them? It costs hundreds of millions to get the best players in the world.

"I think when you play three at the back against the majority of good teams in our league, who play three high, you end up being a five and that's really difficult. If United are going to get much better and competitive, I think that 3-4-3 will evolve into something else."
United drew 1-1 with Ipswich Town in Amorim's first game in charge (
Image:
Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Amorim did admit after the game that the players found it "really hard" to adapt to the new system, but he was "really happy" with their efforts. "It was really hard for them, they were thinking what to do, it was not fluid which is normal after just two training sessions but they tried hard," Amorim said.

"They have so much space to improve. But after a draw you never feel the good things. So I am really happy because they tried but they can do so much better. We don't have too many centre-backs so we have to adapt some players.

"I thought Noussair Mazraoui did very well. He is so smart and is so important for us. He can play anywhere and that kind of player is crucial for our future."

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