Ruben Amorim has conceded Benjamin Sesko is struggling for form at Manchester United and wants the striker to learn to accept criticism so it becomes like a “normal Monday”.
Sesko has scored only twice in 11 appearances for United since joining the club from RB Leipzig for £73.7m in August. That has brought inevitable pressure on to the 22-year-old’s shoulders with Amorim revealing that while he is relaxed about the situation, the player himself is not. “I understand how things are in football, and he’s going to struggle,” said the head coach. “He has no experience here, and when everyone says that you are the next big thing, you hear that. If you don’t perform every week, you are going to hear from club legends, from pundits, the media, and sometimes they are right.
“The ability to understand that this is normal and maintain your confidence is really hard for a kid, and especially for a kid that wants to control everything. He is not going to control everything.” It is understood that Sesko is meticulous regarding his preparation, arriving at the training ground at 8am and often leaving as late as 4pm.
After last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest, Gary Neville claimed that Sesko was “miles off it”. Amorim was asked if these type of comments affect players. “Nobody likes to hear [that],” he said. “[Sesko has] struggled a little bit so let’s embrace that.
“It’s not personal – that’s what I try to explain to the players. It’s an opinion that [could] change in a few weeks. What is true today, in three weeks could be different. My advice to Ben is you are going to get used to [hearing such opinions] and then it’s going to be natural – be like your Monday here. So we are going to help and protect Ben because he works so hard and wants to succeed.”
Amorim went on to suggest that Bruno Fernandes may have to accept being rested next season if United again have European football. “We have one game per week so I’m not thinking about rotation. In the future – yes, [this] is something Bruno needs to understand,” said Amorim. “If you want to win every game and [have] European games, [I am] going to rotate. So for Bruno to put in his head that maybe next year he’s going to be in rotation.”
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Casemiro’s contract with United expires in the summer. Asked about the midfielder’s future, Amorim referred to Harry Maguire, who is in an identical contract situation. “We don’t know what is going to happen,” he said. “Harry Maguire – he has the same problem. Let’s focus on this season and then we’ll see the next season.”