Ruben Amorim’s sacking: Inside the Manchester United coach’s reign at Old Trafford

Although the results were not always good, the players stayed in – at least those who were not on the “Bomb Squad” who were exiled at the start of pre-season training.

Speaking to players publicly and privately during United’s summer trip to the United States, there was real excitement for the season that lies ahead.

Amorim had some quirks, but most coaches do.

When United opened for the first 15 minutes of training the day before the European matches, it was strange to see Amorim watching the sprints and rondos on a different pitch – sometimes 50 yards away, and away from his coaching staff.

He was much more involved – whistle in hand – when the hearings began, although he was not keen on letting the media in on them.

There was a full open session in Malaysia during United’s post-season trip in May, but that entire trip was not conducted on fully professional lines due to the amount of downtime allowed.

Once United arrived at their training base in Chicago in July, access was limited. Frankly, Amorim’s media conferences were not matched by his openness in training.

However, he was meticulous in his preparations.

Footage from his first training session at United showed him explaining to midfielder Kobe Maino exactly how many steps he needed to move after a pass, and then where to open his body to create maximum passing angles.

In the summer, he had two players in the same position in training, then went through different scenarios to make sure they moved to the right area of ​​the pitch.

While this may seem strange – and would have seemed so if anyone had seen it – it makes sense since individuals were assigned positions and established a hierarchy.

The theory and practice are good. But events in the actual matches take their course.

Amorim could have opted for four players per position and might not have ended up with Mason Mount at left-back, something former United captain Gary Neville harshly criticized him for in the wake of the 3-1 defeat to Brentford.