Ruben Amorim fires double transfer plea to Man Utd owners and rejects Sir Alex claim

has asked the board for 'one or two' big stars this summer. The Red Devils didn't sign a single player over the age of 21 in January, and new boss Amorim needs signings capable of fleshing out his distinctive 3-4-3 system.

Patrick Dorgu (20) and Ayden Heaven (18) have both impacted the first team since joining from Lecce and Arsenal respectively in the winter. But Amorim is still short of depth and quality in several areas of the squad, and he has made it clear to that something needs to be done about it in the upcoming transfer window.

Speaking in a press conference on Friday ahead of this weekend's Manchester derby, Amorim said: " and other teams are already in a place where we need a lot to catch them.

"I just want to focus on our strengths and use our club to bring one or two big players [in]. We are doing all the stuff [we can] to be so much better next season, when we need to be so much better."

Amorim looked like he had steadied the ship with a draw against , an aggregate victory over Real Sociedad and a big win at Leicester City just before the international break. But United's momentum was stifled .

They now sit 13th in the Premier League table, with seven points to make up over the final eight games of the campaign if they are to finish in the top half.

Amorim is set to be given time to build at Old Trafford after replacing midway through the season. But he rejected the notion that he can take three or four years to start achieving success like legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson did, on the basis that modern-day managers face so much more scrutiny.

"I hear a lot of people saying that Sir Alex Ferguson took three or four years to win something," he said. "But it's not possible these days because you have to give three interviews before every game. The pressure is so much different."

For Sunday's clash at Old Trafford, Amorim says that defender 'has an issue', Kobbie Mainoo could make his return off the bench, and Mason Mount is fit enough to start the game after coming on as a substitute at Forest earlier this week.