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Former Manchester United star Phil Jones has told Ruben Amorim how he can emulate the great Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. Amorim's squad have won five of their last seven Premier League matches. United are on a roll after a dismal start to the campaign and have put disappointing defeats to Grimsby Town and Manchester City behind them. They travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon seeking a fourth top-flight victory in a row. Despite coming under immense pressure at the start of the season, calls for Amorim to be replaced have quietened . But ex-United defender Jones recalled one thing that made the iconic Ferguson great which could allow Amorim to keep up such results. "I always say the best thing about Sir Alex Ferguson is he knew his team like four weeks in advance," said Jones, speaking with BetMGM . "I was out with my ankle and I remember he came up to me, it was like three weeks before this game he was referring to and he said, 'Get yourself ready for the Wigan game away. It's a big game, and we're going to need to win. You're playing right back.' "And I was thinking, 'Yeah, good one' I'm not going to play. I'm not going to be playing. It's three weeks away. I'm still out. I've not even been on the grass yet.' "Lo and behold, get to the game and I'm starting right back. It's the aura of the guy and just knowing how to handle every individual player. "I mean, we talk about managers and coaches tactically on the pitch these days and they're so tactically astute, inverted full backs, tens, rotations and all that sort of stuff. But forget all that. "What he had was an understanding of every single player and how to interact with them, at what time to interact with them, how to deliver the interaction. He just got it bang on every time. Players would run through a brick wall for him." What Ferguson also possessed was the ability to dish out criticism when it was warranted. Jones recalled a time when some in-game decisions landed him in the manager's bad books. "There was one time, I think we played Athletic Bilbao and it was the first season when David de Gea, for as amazing as he was, he had a difficult start to the season. Every mistake that he made unfortunately as a goalkeeper led to a goal," said Jones. "We played Bilbao at home, we were 1-0 up, and I passed the ball back in the last 10 minutes to him. He's gone to clear the ball and as he's cleared the ball, it sort of landed straight to the number nine and they've gone and scored from there. "Now, I'm not even thinking that I would be culpable for the goal, but obviously we're all culpable. Coming in after the game, he [Ferguson] has hammered me about my back pass, saying that it was too strong for David. It's only now that I realise that he was just trying to protect David, really. "Again, it goes back to understanding of players, like, 'No problem, you can rant and rave at me, take it on the chin, see you tomorrow at training.' But other people would melt." Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. 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.
