Ruben Amorin was a toddler two months shy of his second birthday when Sir Alex Ferguson took charge of his first game as Manchester United manager at Oxford United 38 years ago this month.

Like Amorim, Ferguson had been parachuted into Old Trafford in November and tasked with reviving the fallen giants of English football – something he managed to do quite spectacularly after surviving the difficult early years.

Ipswich Town is not Oxford United and Portman Road is not the Manor Ground, where 13,545 fans saw Ferguson suffer an opening 2-0 defeat in 1986, but there are at least some comparisons to be made between the two scenarios as Amorim prepares for his first game as United’s head coach in Suffolk on Sunday afternoon.

The 39-year-old is a smart guy and a student of the game; that much was evident from his revelation at Carrington on Friday. He has seen a succession of managers fail to emerge from Ferguson’s shadow over the past 11 years.

So after wisely deflecting comparisons with his Portuguese compatriot Jose Mourinho, he was equally reluctant to draw any parallels with Ferguson either.

“It’s hard to copy someone so I have to be me,” Amorim said, confirming that he has yet to hit the shots. “It’s a different time and I have to have a different approach. I can’t be the same guy that Sir Alex Ferguson was. I can also be demanding with a different approach. That’s my focus.

Ruben Amorim spoke to the media ahead of his first game as Manchester United manager

Amorim moved to Old Trafford earlier this month after a successful spell with Sporting Lisbon

‘You must be very demanding. This is a club that has to win, has to win, so we have to show that to our players.

The former Sporting Lisbon boss believes he can be just as ruthless when it comes to shaking things up at United.

For Ferguson, it was to eradicate the booze culture that he inherited. In Amorim’s case, playing as he wants in a 3-4-3 formation will squeeze that extra effort out of an underperforming squad, starting on Sunday at Ipswich who will be buoyed by their first Premier League win at Tottenham last time out .

“In the locker room, there are some places to have fun, (there are) some places to work hard,” he warned.

‘I can be ruthless when I have to be. If you think I’m going to be the nicest guy you’ve ever seen, if it’s someone who only thinks about himself, I’m going to be a different person.

“I’m not the kind of guy who wants to show that he’s the boss. They’ll feel it in the little details that I can be the smiling one, but when I have a job to do I’ll be a different person. They understand the.

Much of the focus in the short time Amorim has been able to work with his players for a week during the international break after securing a visa has been holding onto the ball and working like dogs to retrieve it when they lose possession. It is central to his philosophy.

“It’s so much harder to get into a team in the middle of the season,” Amorim added. ‘You have to (get to) know the players during the matches.

The first game of his Premier League career will be against Ipswich at Portman Road on Sunday

39-year-old Amorim is expected to line up his United players in a 3-4-3 formation

“If you win, it’s a lot of fun to have a lot of games and try to make some practical changes. But if you lose, you don’t have time in training to practice everything you want.

“Where you can improve a team is in training, this is the most important aspect. You can ask the players to recover (the ball) and react really quickly, but if you don’t do any drills with it, it’s really difficult to do that video We will find ways to handle it.

“We are taking things game by game and the current aim is to win against Ipswich.”

It took Ferguson three-and-a-half years to win his first trophy at United after the opening game at the Manor Ground and Amorim knows he is unlikely to get the same respite.

“The only way I have to try to survive this is to focus intensely on my work, and there is a lot to do here at our club,” he concluded.

‘I know the expectations. High expectations can be a problem because we need to know how to manage these expectations.

“We know it will take time and it won’t be easy.”