I played for Man United – this is what has surprised me about Ruben Amorim

Ex-Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has admitted that he has been surprised by Ruben Amorim's no-holds-barred press conferences.

Amorim, 40, has not taken any prisoners in his meetings with the media since his arrival from Sporting CP in November. Within three months, he has called the current crop of United players possibly "the worst in the club's history" and also said he would pick 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital over Marcus Rashford right now.

At present, United's performances have not been quite as memorable under the Portuguese boss. Yet, Hargreaves admitted he has been impressed by Amorim's demeanour, even if he does believe the United boss often goes too far.

In an exclusive interview with the Manchester Evening News, while speaking on behalf of TNT Sportsto promote watching live sport in pubs, TNT Sports pundit Hargreaves said: "I think he felt they would be further along.

"But there’s been a lot of players and managers who have come over there and found it challenging. I think, eventually, they’ll get it right.

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"I really like him, I think he is an amazing communicator for a guy who is also speaking English as a second language. He tries to communicate, if anything, he is probably being too open. I think that’s a sign of respect on his behalf to be so open. But this league is more demanding than the one he is in and he is learning quickly.

"But, United, as brilliant of a club as it is, one of the biggest clubs in the world, there are a lot of issues there, on and off the pitch. They will need to sort that out if they can.

"The stadium, the training ground, the squad, the recruitment, playing a