Ruben Amorim told his Man Utd players they could not have the day off (Image: MUTV)
has revealed he turned down a request from his players to get a day off training on Monday after beating .
The Red Devils left it late to seal all three points at Craven Cottage, with Lisandro Martinez’s deflected strike giving Amorim a much-needed 1-0 win to boost morale.
Fulham also had an effort cleared off the line by Toby Collyer, while Amad Diallo saw his 94th-minute strike disallowed by VAR for offside.
It proved to be the best birthday present for Amorim, who will celebrate turning 40 on Monday (January 27), as United climbed to 12th in the table.
But the ruthless United boss refused to grant a request from his stars for a day off because he felt it would be the perfect birthday ‘gift’ to train with his squad.
“They asked for the day off tomorrow… I didn’t give it,” Amorim told MUTV after the game.
“We are training because it’s my birthday and my gift is to work with the guys who didn’t play.
“It will be fantastic because we won. Then I will have dinner with my kids.”
Ruben Amorim revealed his plans for his 40th birthday on Monday (Image: Getty)
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Amorim also shared a joke about he had aged a decade during his short reign at Old Trafford due to the intense pressure on the former Sporting boss.
“It’s not 40…I’m 50!” he told Match of the Day 2. “After two months at , it’s 50. It’s a privilege to spend my 40th birthday here.”
On the performance, he said: “That feeling of winning and three points is really important for us. You cannot see a great improvement in the team and that is a fact. But to win helps us to improve. We’ve had some lack of luck in some games.
“Today, was not the best match but we managed to win. The important thing is I have a clear idea of what I want to do. Sometimes I’m frustrated. We want to play a different style and we are going to play different style in the future.”
Man Utd’s players applauded their vocal away support after a 1-0 win over Fulham (Image: Getty)
United’s win on the road at Fulham will grant Amorim a much-needed reprieve after some disappointing results in front of the Old Trafford faithful.
And the travelling fans showed their appreciation for the under-fire boss by chanting his name at Craven Cottage, a gesture that was wholly appreciated by their manager.
“They deserve it. It is amazing and it is not normal. I know you guys are used to this environment here, but it is not normal,” he added.
“It is a big privilege to win for this club and give them wins. We want to give them wins and today we did it.”