.
Ratcliffe admitted earlier this week that the decision to persist with Erik ten Hag beyond the summer was an error that has left Amorim inheriting a disjointed squad ill-suited to the demands of his 3-4-3 formation.
‘Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid, but for us to mold the squad that we are fully responsible for, and accountable for, will take time,’ said Ratcliffe in one of the many wide-ranging interviews he has given over the course of the last week.
‘We’ve got this period of transformation where we move from the past to the future.
‘We’re buying Antony, we’re buying Casemiro, we’re buying Onana, we’re buying Hojlund, we’re buying Sancho. These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out.’
Asked if Antony, Casemiro, Onana and Hojlund were good enough for the club all Ratcliffe replied ‘was ‘there are some great players in the squad as we know, the captain is a fabulous footballer. We definitely need Bruno (Fernandes), he’s a fantastic footballer.’
Amorim could have been forgiven for feeling that Ratcliffe’s view of the current playing staff and the headlines it generated represented another unwanted distraction ahead of a crucial game for his team.
Tomorrow night’s Europa League tie against Real Sociedad is delicately poised at 1-1 but Amorim insists he is comfortable with Ratcliffe offering up his opinions in such a public fashion.
‘If we are being honest in this moment, everybody, me, all the players, we are underperforming this season,’ said the former Sporting boss.
‘We can always change that and I include myself in that part of the underperforming.
‘You are talking about players like Casemiro, for example, that won everything and we know these kind of …
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