Harry Maguire has accused his Manchester United team-mates of overthinking Ruben Amorim's tactics in their draw against Ipswich Town.
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Man Utd draw Amorim's first gameMaguire accuses team-mates of overthinkingNew boss says players were 'afraid'Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The Amorim era got off to an underwhelming start with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich in which Andre Onana proved to be the hero, the United goalkeeper making some fine saves to earn his side a point. The new head coach might have been expecting a different outcome when Marcus Rashford scored in the second minute, but United failed to push on and were ultimately relieved to escape Portman Road with a point.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Amorim admitted his players were "afraid" and "confused" after the match, and this idea has been echoed by Maguire. The centre-back, who missed the game due to injury, believes his team-mates were too focused on the Portuguese coach's instructions during the encounter.
WHAT MAGUIRE SAID
"When you come from one style to another style, like the manager said in his interview after, I think people on the pitch are thinking too much where they want to be," Maguire told .
"At the end of the day, it's a football match. Go and be better than your opponent and go and win the football match. Within that, play with his principles.
"I think we overthought the game against Ipswich. I think that's natural because the boys are wanting to play the way that the new manager wants to play. But I think we've got to let it adapt with [fluency], rather than forcing it."
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?
It will take more than just a solitary international break for Amorim's players to get to grips with his 3-4-3 formation, but the former Sporting CP boss – who has already identified three areas for improvement – will hope to see signs of progress in Thursday's game against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League.