Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim apologises as embarrassing moment leaves Mason Mount in stitches | Football | Sport
Ruben Amorim was left red-faced on Tuesday as his phone alarm interrupted a Manchester United press conference. Mason Mount, who was sat beside his boss, certainly saw the funny side as the pair chucked their way out of an awkward situation.
United manager Amorim and midfielder Mount addressed the media in Malaysia ahead of friendlies against ASEAN All-Stars on Wednesday and Hong Kong on Friday. The Red Devils had no time to rest after their final-day Premier League win over Aston Villa, as they flew straight out to Asia for a post-season tour which will bring them together with fans on the other side of the world.
During the first part of the press conference, Amorim and Mount sat quietly while organisers of the upcoming match spoke to reporters. To Amorim’s horror, a loud alarm on his phone began blaring out, and he apologised to the room as Mount beamed from ear to ear.
When it was his turn to talk, Amorim began: “First of all, I want to apologise for the house alarm. I always have my phone on silent, especially on this occasion. It was a house alarm. When I’m away, I like to keep an eye on my kids!”
After a demanding season in which United made it to the Europa League final, Amorim may opt to give many of his senior stars a break in Asia. While that would give the Red Devils’ youngsters a chance to impress, the manager is keen to avoid drumming up too much hype and risk hampering their development.
He said: “I think one of the issues with youngsters is sometimes we push too much from the beginning. You have social media, all this pressure around young kids, I don’t want to say any names.
“I believe in all of them and, like I said, you have surprises. This is a massive club, that is a big question in our club, putting our young kids on a pedestal, and that is an important thing to change because we need to control that.”
Like his players, Amorim has also endured a taxing few months since taking the reins from interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy in November. But the former Sporting boss claims he does not need a lie-down just yet.
“[The season] is not fully behind us because I have one row of English journalists, so I will rest from that when we finish the tour,” he explained. “I closed that chapter, I’m excited, I’m nervous, I want to work to the next season, I don’t have that feeling to disconnect, I had the feeling to close the season but now it’s a new season. I don’t need rest.”
