‘They need to be ready’: Ruben Amorim throws down the gauntlet to Man United rookies and calls on them to embrace white-hot atmosphere in Leeds cauldron

Ruben Amorim insists he is ready for the white-hot atmosphere of Elland Road on Sunday, and won’t hesitate to send his Manchester United rookies into battle against bitter rivals Leeds.

Amorim is preparing for his first game against United’s old enemy from across the Pennines without up to eight senior players missing due to injury and international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.

But he has heard enough about the fixture to know what to expect when United travel to West Yorkshire for the first time since February 2023, and only the fourth time in more than 13 years.

‘I heard that it’s a big derby, a great environment, a big rivalry,’ said the United boss. ‘In Portugal it’s a big rivalry, but I’ve never experienced this one. It’s different. Different environment, different culture.

‘The noise is going to be big but we just have to perform. It’s hard to compare different cultures, different derbies, different history. Let’s just focus on the game. It’s 11 guys against our 11 in the beginning, and we’ll try to win.

‘Every game in the Premier League is so tough for us. It’s one more game. I know that it means a lot to the fans, but we need to go there and try to win.

‘When you play for Manchester United, you need to be ready for everything. You guys have the best league in the world. Every game now, and you see, every week there’s a lot of draws. You never control, you never understand what is going to happen at the end of that week. So it’s going to be tough. But it’s always tough nowadays in the Premier League.

‘Leeds are confident, but we prove that we can win any game, in any situation, in every context. So we will try to do that again. We know that they change the system. It’s going to be a tough game.’

Amorim confirmed that he is unlikely to have Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo, Matthijs De Ligt or Harry Maguire back from injury, while Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui are still away at Afcon.

In recent games he has blooded teenagers Jack Fletcher, Shea Lacey and Bendito Mantato, and he is ready to bring them off the bench at Elland Road if needed.

‘It’s a game in the hostile environment, but they need to be ready and they need to experience that,’ he added. ‘But it’s going to be hard for any player, even the guys with a lot of experience. But again, we already experienced that. Bilbao last year was amazing, the sound. I know that feeling is completely different, but they need to be ready.

‘Of course, we look at everything, but they need to be prepared. You can see the squad, it’s impossible. We cannot stretch the players that we don’t have in the moment. But, of course, I will try to put a team that is ready to cope with that. And then I will try to read the game and try to understand what I should do to help them to win the game.’