Ruben Amorim has conducted his first interview as Manchester United head coach and, in typical fashion of the club, has already been forced to bat away a controversial story.
The Portuguese coach is set to lead United into Premier League battle for the first time this weekend, as they travel to face Ipswich on Sunday afternoon.
Previous manager Erik ten Hag departed with United languishing in the bottom half of the league and in miserable form. Though interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy steadied the ship somewhat, there is still some way to go if United are to be truly competitive under Amorim.
The media frenzy that surrounds the club is another perilous problem that Amorim will have to navigate as he settles into the job. The latest major bone of contention came this week when Gary Neville and a loud minority of the club's fans took issue with Marcus Rashford and Casemiro's respective trips Stateside during the international break.
United's players who were not called up for international duty were allowed five days off by the club, with Rashford and Casemiro both choosing to attend NBA games in New York and Orlando respectively.
Neville pushed a lengthy discussion on the pair's decision to travel during Thursday's episode of the Overlap, criticising them and saying he would not have made the decision to travel so far during his playing days.
In a twist of events, Neville's next duties after Stick to Football involved sitting down for a one-on-one interview with United's incoming head coach Ruben Amorim - who defended his players when Neville again raised the issue.
READ HERE: Ian Wright Destroyed Roy Keane For Eating Pasta "Like A Seven-Year-Old"
READ HERE: Gary Neville Picks Caoimhín Kelleher Among Standout PL Players Of Season So Far
Manchester United: Ruben Amorim pushes back at Gary Neville's question
Gary Neville would ask Ruben Amorim to comment on Casemiro and Marcus Rashford's decisions to travel to the United States over the past fortnight while their teammates were on international duty.
Rashford in particular has come in for heavy criticism for his off-field lifestyle over the past 12 or so months, but Amorim pushed back against Neville's question and defended his players.
Amorim in fact said his main issue was that he would not have afforded the players a five-day break (the break came before he officially took charge), but he said he trusted his players to behave like adults and know what was best for them.
The first thing...it was five days. The second thing, they received the information of five days off. They are big boys, they have kids, so they decide what to do.
The main question here is...us as a club have to set the standards and have to manage that. It's my decision if they have five days, as a coach, or three days, or is it three days to rest [and] you cannot fly? This is something that us as a club have to decide.
For me, yes for sure [he would have structured the break differently]. But I cannot put this on the players. They told them they have five days off so they can fly anywhere because nobody in the club says, 'You cannot fly.'
They have to live their lives because they are grown men and they have to decide these things. But us, as a club, we have to change these standards.
Amorim would go on to admit that the standards set by Neville, his teammates, and the coaching staff during Manchester United's "golden age" of the 90s and 00s were a far cry from those currently in place.
However, the incoming coach would vehemently defend Rashford and Casemiro, saying that they could not be blamed for travelling when they were free to do so.
It's hard to argue with Amorim, with the frenzy drummed up about this incident one of the stranger ones to surround Manchester United in recent times.
The theme of defending his players was a repeated one from Amorim, who said that he would rather leave the job than ever throw any players under the bus.
As a former player, I know every trick.
I can understand the players, I can understand what they are doing and why they are doing it.
If they are doing for the team, I will defend them to the end. I can lose my job before I put one player in front of the bus. If they don't put the team first, I will be the first one to talk with them.
Given the fractious nature of Erik ten Hag's relationship with many of his United squad, that might just be the biggest bonus fans can take from Friday's interview.
Ruben Amorim's first game in charge of Manchester United comes on Sunday at 4:30pm away to Ipswich Town.
SEE ALSO: Ireland's Qualifying Road To The 2026 World Cup Explained
