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Ruben Amorim has admitted that Manchester United's failure to qualify for European football and embarrassing Carabao Cup exit have cost Kobbie Mainoo . The midfielder has been starved of minutes at Old Trafford this season after United finished 15th in the Premier League last term. Mainoo, 20, has not started a match in the Premier League thus far, and failed to get off the bench against Nottingham Forest last time out. The academy product has seen his momentum stall under Amorim after breaking into the side in 2023/24 and earning an England call-up. The talented youngster was denied an opportunity to move on loan in the summer , but has almost been surplus to requirements this term with United playing just one game per week. United's Carabao Cup exit to Grimsby is proving particularly damaging in this respect. And Amorim has conceded that Mainoo's training ground performances have been good enough to warrant a place in his starting lineup, but suggested he does not have the space to offer an opportunity. Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro have started ahead of the youngster. Amorim is taking advantage of the opportunity to better prepare his side, however. The Portuguese coach believes his side's schedule was problematic last term. "Every minute we are using to prepare the future with a lot of games and less training," Amorim told beIN Sports. "We are giving a lot of information, we are working on our fitness because we need to keep momentum during the week with good training, really intense. "When you have more games you are just concerned about recovery. We suffered a lot from last season. People forget we played two and three days all of the time and that was really hard for us. But then you have the other side. "I see Kobbie Mainoo training today, and he deserves to play, but then I have to take one guy [out] that's playing really well. We should have played in the Carabao Cup, because I need to see Kobbie Mainoo playing, I need to see Josh, all of these guys deserve to play, but in the end, it is one more game you need to make choices. So you have both sides." Qualifying for Europe this term is vital for Amorim, simply to manage his squad. “We need to go to Europe because of everything,” he said. “Our club needs to be in Europe, it’s hard to have a very, very good squad. “Imagine for me to have Mainoo with that (many) minutes that he’s playing, he needs more games for me to make a rotation because, with one game (a week), it’s really hard. “I have to take one of the guys that is playing to put another. When you have more games, you can divide, you can manage the group in a different way.” Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
