Ruben Amorim thrusts his hands down by his sides to demonstrate how it felt like they were tied during his first seven months at Manchester United.

‘I had that feeling during the season that I'm so frustrated, I cannot do nothing and I acknowledge that, so I have to wait,’ he explains. ‘And to wait, and being manager of Manchester United, is like going to a fight with my hands like this. So that was the frustration.’

Amorim told United he would rather take the job this summer. Told them a storm was coming after he was persuaded to replace Erik ten Hag in November instead.

What a storm it was too. United’s worst season in more than half a century, ending in disappointment in the Europa League final.

A total of 14 defeats from his 27 Premier League games led to United’s lowest-ever finish in the competition and Amorim wondering if he had made the wrong decision.

‘There was mostly a feeling that I'm disappointing all these people,’ he says. ‘That was the feeling that made me think, “what should I do?” There were some moments last year that were really hard on me.

‘Walking away is more an ego thing. I'm like that. I'm really romantic about things. Nowadays I'm better. I'm more excited. I think also I learned a lot. How to sometimes not be so romantic. All these things are gone now.

‘I know that I used (up) all the credit that I had when I arrived and now we have to perform, but I really like the pressure and I'm ready to start fresh.’

Having weathered the storm, Amorim looks more contended on tour in the US. The 40-year-old has stamped his authority on the United squad by leaving players at home, and is now exerting his influence over the rest of the group in a full pre-season training camp, just as he always wanted.

‘I felt last season I just needed to survive to the end,’ he adds. ‘Because everything I needed to do, I needed to do with a new start, with more time, with some changes that I couldn’t do then.’

He ended up having to prioritise the Europa League over the Premier League, a dilemma that forced him into team selections and decisions that he would not normally have made – and ultimately counted for nothing when United lost to Tottenham in Bilbao.

‘My goal three months to the end was trying to win the Europa League. We struggled a lot, trying to save players, to play 60 minutes. You play against Newcastle, all these clubs, and you have to perform or else we will have problems.

‘You cannot do it in Manchester United. You cannot think like that. I cannot change three guys because I have to try to keep the team fit to win the Europa League.’

The worst part was travelling to games fearing what was about to happen next because his team were not good enough.

‘To tell you the truth, it's not how I returned to my house after the games but how I left to go to the games,’ admits Amorim. ‘All the struggles that we had in the games, I feel it before the games.

‘So that is the hardest part. To go to the games and know that we are not going to be competitive. When I returned, I just looked to my family and tried to think about different things. But I was really frustrated.’

The pressure was intense but not so great, says Amorim, as when he was forced to retire at the age of 32 due to a cruciate ligament injury and face an uncertain financial future with his wife Maria.

‘I remember that we had an Excel (sheet) with all the money that we have, all the things that I need. I want to help my family. All this responsibility. And I felt the pressure in that time. Nowadays, I don't feel any pressure about that. I just don't.’

A £6.5million salary will help in that respect, and so did the support of the United hierarchy through the tough times.

‘They always show support,’ he says. ‘And if you try to remember one team, one big team, that lost so many games and the manager kept his job, you will not find it. So that shows more than words that they support me.’

Which brings us to his relationship with minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe who revealed in March that Amorim is not afraid to ‘tell me to f*** off’ in their regular discussions.

‘We speak on the phone. He sends me messages, he sends me gifs, joking. So we have this kind of relationship. I think it's really easy to deal with Jim; easy in the sense that if you know your stuff, if you know how to explain any decision, you'll be fine with him. If you try to use some bull***t in big words with him, he's going to knock you.

‘I know that he's the owner of the club, I know my place. But when I need to say something, I will say it naturally with no bull***t. I'm really direct, and I think it's something that he likes a lot.’

Ineos have made sweeping changes at United since buying into the club and Amorim believes there is a new culture that will help him and the players succeed.

‘I think all the managers that come here can change things and can dictate some things around the team, I think that is clear,’ he said. ‘But the manager cannot do that by himself because I cannot contract people. There are some things that I don't know.

‘So I need to have top people around me to help me to change the culture. I think it's not the question of if I have the authority. It's my job. But it's bigger than that. I need all the club in the same direction.

‘If you look at every player, I think everyone can say he can play better. I have that feeling. I think it's more, it's a team thing. It's more like all the culture, the pace, the intensity, all these things. It's to understand the way we want to play.

‘Last year was tough to do that with so many games and so many problems, that is the truth. We are in a better place, but we are just beginning.

‘You can feel more freedom in the players (on tour). But then, when it starts, the Premier League is going to be different. We will be ready for that. I truly believe that there are a lot of players who can do better – and I can do better.’