Ruben Amorim jumped to Patrick Dorgu’s defence after his sending off in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Ipswich, insisting the youngster is ‘clearly ready’ for the Premier League.
It was a difficult evening for Dorgu, 20, who was making only his third appearance for the club on the back of a January transfer move from Serie A outfit Lecce.
Dorgu was involved in a defensive mix-up with Andre Onana to gift Ipswich an opening goal through Jaden Philogene in only the fourth minute and the left-back’s evening soon went from bad to worse.
Matthijs de Ligt struck soon after Sam Morsy’s own goal to put United in the driving seat midway through the first half but the hosts were reduced to ten men as Dorgu horribly mistimed a challenge on Omari Hutchinson in the 43rd minute.
Referee Darren England was left with no option but to brandish a red card following a VAR review and Dorgu looked despondent as he made his way off the pitch at Old Trafford.
Fortunately for Dorgu, Harry Maguire nodded United in front at the start of the second period – after Philogene had grabbed his second of the night – and Amorim’s men held firm to seal all three points.
‘Today I’m not frustrated,’ United head coach Amorim told TNT Sports shortly after the final whistle.
‘With the situations of the game, of course you get a little bit of frustrated with the game because we suffered a goal, one mistake and that can happen.
‘But since the first minute I felt that the players were fine, were trying to play.
‘We managed to score two goals and then the sending off changed the game a little bit but the fight that the guys showed… and our fans helped us a lot so I think we fully deserved the three points today.’
Amorim encouraged his players to ‘enjoy’ the victory before turning their attentions to United’s FA Cup tie with Fulham this weekend.
‘There are moments that are really, really hard but that is natural in our profession,’ he added.
‘You need to suffer in some moments to enjoy the good moments also. We have to pass this moment, we have to think just about the next game and not in the past or in the future.
‘Let’s think in the moment. We won this game and let’s prepare for the next one.’
Dorgu’s sending off means he will be suspended for United’s cup clash with Fulham, as well as the club’s upcoming league games against Arsenal and Leicester.
Asked if he is concerned Dorgu may not yet be ready for the level, Amorim replied: ‘He’s ready because he already proved that in the last game.
‘Any player here can have a mistake like today from Patrick and the sending off, he wants to play the ball.
‘Maybe he’s a little bit harsh with the way he went for the ball.
‘He’s inexperienced but he’s clearly ready for the Premier League.
‘People judge right away so last week he was okay, good performance against Everton and today they will say that he’s not experienced enough to play in the Premier League. But I don’t feel that way.’
Amorim was pleased with the manner in which United ‘controlled possession’ for large periods despite being down to ten men for the majority of the contest.
‘It was just one game but I felt that we started the game in a different way and you could feel it in the way we controlled possession,’ the Portuguese continued.
‘We were more calm with the ball, minus the goal, and I give more credit to my players because even with that goal we managed to control the game, the tempo of the game, to create situations and then to turn things around.
‘They did a great job.’
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