Town captain Sam Morsy believes Manchester United are better than the league table suggests as the Blues prepare to return from the international break with a mouthwatering clash against the Red Devils at Portman Road on Sunday.

Man Utd go into the weekend in 13th place in the Premier League but possess a squad that has cost hundreds of millions to assemble and features a plethora of trophy winners and full internationals.

Ruben Amorim will be taking charge of Man Utd for the first time on Sunday, the former Sporting Lisbon head coach having replaced Erik ten Hag in the hotseat at Old Trafford.

That narrative has led to this weekend’s clash being billed as possibly the biggest in world football, but Morsy says it is important that the Blues concentrate on themselves and not let the outside noise of the fixture play a part in their preparation.

“We’re focusing on ourselves,” he said. “Everybody’s worried about Man United and what they’re doing, us not so much really. It doesn’t matter what they’re doing at their club and who they appoint, it’s about us.

“We know every game is a difficult game, it’s about the levels we want to reach. I think we’ve reached the levels a lot of times this season, there’s been a couple of times we haven’t and if we don’t we won’t have the opportunity to win the game.

“The big focus is on ourselves and reaching our top level and if we do that we’ve got a chance.

“They’ve still got world class players. They’re a top team and they’re massively underachieving so their threats are all over the pitch. We’re going to have our hands full to try and stop them.”

Morsy is fully aware of the challenges that the 13-time Premier League champions will bring on Sunday and discussed what the Blues will need to get any sort of result under the lights at Portman Road.

“The same attitude as we’ve had the last few weeks in being ready to work as hard as possible,” he said. “A real team performance, everyone in it together and what we’ve built at the club off the last few years and that togetherness.

“And then of course we need those individuals moments as well which our attackers are doing well and played really well against Tottenham. So we’re going to need a bit of everything, we’re going to need everybody to perform and push each other.”

Just two years ago, Town were in League One and competing as equals against the likes of Morecambe and Forest Green Rovers, with many of the current squad, including Morsy, involved at that stage of the Blues’ progress.

Despite the rapid rise and the comparisons of those fixtures to facing Man Utd, Morsy knows Town have worked hard to get to this position and says it is business as usual with no time to reflect on the journey to this point.

He said: “Not during the season because in the season you’re in the zone of working and improving, but it’s definitely something in the summer and after the season you would look at.

“The focus is being a good player in the Premier League and being a part of a good team in the Premier League. That’s the main goal.

“I don’t think it’s one where we say ‘look how well we’ve done’ because everyone’s on the journey, even the majority of the top players don’t start off at the top clubs.

“It is a good journey but the conversations are always about winning and how we can get better. If you delve too much into the past and put yourself there I don’t think that’s the right mentality for elite sport.

“We’re here on merit, we have to look forward, we have to compete and we have to be better than people who have been at this level for a lot longer than us.

“There’s no nostalgia when it comes to us, the fairytale or whatever. It’s obviously about winning games and being better than the opposition you’re against.

“We are a Premier League club, we are now Premier League players and you’ve got to see yourself in that light otherwise you won’t compete. The focus is always on the next game, to keep improving and seeing how good we can become.

“It’s just another game for me, to be honest. You have the first game of the season against Liverpool, but after that it’s business. We want to pick up points, we want to be competitive and play well so it’ll just be another game for me.

“It was one of the top fixtures, obviously. An incredible club, one of the biggest clubs in the world so it’s impossible to ignore it. It’s one we’re really looking forward to.”

What Morsy did take an opportunity to reflect on, however, was the victory over Tottenham Hotspur prior to the international break that saw the Blues earn their first top flight victory for 22 years and move them out of the relegation zone.

Asked whether that surprise victory in north London was more of a relief or feeling it was a matter of time, the 33-year-old said: “A little bit of both, really. It’s important to get the first win so there was a feeling of relief, but at the same time we’ve come close, especially at home.

“The Fulham and Villa games were really close and then the Leicester game in the last couple of minutes. We’ve kept going, we’ve kept working and kept improving which is the most important thing.

“I feel like we’re on the upward trajectory, within that there’s ups and downs but I think we’re in a good place to move forward to have the ability to win games.”

He added: “It was definitely a step in the right direction. It was a really good away performance against a really good team, they were coming off a really good result as well so we knew the game would be difficult. We all dug in, everybody played their part and it was a great feeling to win.

“The fans have been great and they have to enjoy the journey. I’ve heard people say they’d rather be back in the Championship, that’s just not what it looks like. It’s like trying to climb to the top of the mountain and then say it gets difficult and I’d rather be at the bottom, so there’s no point.

“It’s important that we all enjoy the journey – the ups, the downs, being close to winning games but not quite, you’ve got to get a sense of enjoyment within that as well and keep improving.

“Then you have those moments last Sunday where the fans are absolutely buzzing and probably give them a little bit more belief as well.

“We’ve beaten a top team so it gives you more belief to beat the top teams. You either find the belief before or you have to do it and then that brings you belief, however you want to look at it. Certainly beating a really good team puts us in good stead.”

Town will hope to follow the Spurs win with a first home victory in the Premier League since 2002, and Morsy is certainly expecting a raucous atmosphere on Sunday.

“I think it will be the best atmosphere of the season,” he said. “The home games, the Liverpool game in particular, was an incredible atmosphere, Aston Villa the same.

“We’re going to need that but we know it’s coming. It’s going to be a great atmosphere and we have to match that energy on the pitch.”

As expected, the Premier League has been a huge step up in level compared to the previous two seasons in League One and the Championship, and Morsy says the Blues have taken plenty of learnings from the opening 11 games of the campaign.

The Egypt international said: “It’s obviously harder because people are better in both boxes. The Fulham and Villa games are good examples, two teams going really strong and we were really close to winning and we had chances at the end.

“We’ve got 12 new players, that’s half the squad that is new and it’s just about fully integrating into the team and getting over the line.

“Obviously it is a little bit more difficult but on a couple of occasions we’ve been close and we could definitely have a couple more wins. But at the same time if we did we wouldn’t have learned those lessons along the way and we’ve got to take those as well.”

Two of those new arrivals have been youngsters Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson, although the latter was at Portman Road on loan from Chelsea last season before the move became permanent in the summer.

The England U21 internationals have caught the eye of many this season including Morsy, who says both have been able to showcase their talent on the highest stage.

“Liam’s going from strength to strength,” he said. “Not only has he scored goals but his overall play has been really good. He’s improving and he has lots to improve on as well.

“I think Omari had his best game last Sunday, at the moment he seems to be performing better against the better teams. It was his best game for a mile and it’s only going to be a matter of time before he starts scoring and really affecting the game.”

TWTD

victorysquad added 13:31 - Nov 23 Right to respect United. They will no doubt run a lot harder tomorrow than they have been, but I suspect their fitness may not be at the required level to keep it up for 90 minutes. The other opportunity is they won't be well drilled on Amorim's style of play, so there are some things that play to our advantage tomorrow. Lets get in the pubs early and make sure PR is rocking.

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Normandyblue added 20:14 - Nov 23 The win against spurs is looking even more impressive after todays result!
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ottawafan added 21:20 - Nov 23 Based on this on his leadership skills on the pitch I reckon Mr. Morsy would make an excellent coach/manager. He's very well spoken and level headed.
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Linkboy13 added 09:09 - Nov 24 The two main reasons for our success McKenna and Morsy.
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Suffolkboy added 11:03 - Nov 24 What’s good read ! What an intelligent thoughtful analysis from our Capt on the field of play . His attitude speaks of the character KM seeks ,and the like of which Sir Bobby sought out . ITFC could not ask for better determination and example ! COYB
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