Morsy: We Want to Impose Ourselves on United Sunday, 24th Nov 2024 09:49 by Kallum Brisset Sam Morsy wants the Blues to impose themselves in front of their home supporters as Town look ahead to the visit of Manchester United in the Premier League this afternoon. Having achieved their first victory of the season against Tottenham Hotspur prior to the international break, the Blues are looking for their first Portman Road victory in the top flight for more than 22 years. The Town captain knows the global interest in the match will be high due to Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim taking charge of his first match in today’s primetime television slot on Sky Sports, but admitted it will feel no different to any of the previous 11 matches so far this season. “It’s the Premier League, every game is watched by millions around the world,” he said. “It’s going to be an exciting game but it’s going to be a game in front of our fans and we want to impose ourselves. “We don’t want to make it a circus or think about the circus, it’s really tunnel vision and we want to go and try and win the game. “You’ve got to enjoy them, there’s no easy game. They haven’t had an amazing start to the season but they’re in good form and it’s a new manager so we’re going to expect them to be running really hard at it. We have to match that and go beyond. “We feel we’re in a good place, we feel like we’re improving and we feel on our day we can give anybody a game.” With Amorim yet to take charge of a United match, it could feel like the Blues are facing a little bit of the unknown. Morsy says the group have taken stock of his style at previous club Sporting Lisbon, but emphasised that the main focus is on themselves. He said: “Yes and no because some managers change from game to game anyway so you never really know what a team is going to do. It’s going to be the same players and they’ve probably had two weeks to work on things. “Obviously we’ve got an idea of how the manager used to play at his previous club, but it’s all about us on Sunday.” This weekend’s visitors have a squad filled with talent and pedigree, none more so than Casemiro, who is a five-time winner of the UEFA Champions League. Morsy is looking forward to doing battle with the Brazil international, who he claims to have studied previously as an example of an elite player in his position. “I can’t wait,” he said. “He’s been absolutely incredible, he’s someone who I’ve watched closely for the last decade. At Wigan, me and Anthony Barry used to watch a lot of him. A phenomenal career, a phenomenal player and I’m really looking forward to that.” Another player who Morsy has high praise for is his opposite skipper Bruno Fernandes, who the Town midfielder believes often gets an unfair negative image externally. “He never shies away from anything,” he said of the Portugal international. “Technically he’s one of the best in that position but also his mentality. “People only see the arms in the air and the moaning and they view that as being a bad captain, but when you hear stories you hear the different side of what a really good guy he is, how he leads and how he’s got time for everybody. “And then obviously his mentality on the pitch as well – he never shies away from things, he’s really brave on the ball and brave to try things and I’ve got a lot of admiration for him. “He’s one of the few players where, because you’ve watched and admired him so much and seen as one of the best in that position for the last decade, it’s going to be a good achievement. But ultimately it’s about trying to get the better of him on Sunday.” Morsy admitted a family connection resulted in him supporting United’s neighbours Manchester City as a child but also found enjoyment from watching the Red Devils, something he says will have no bearing on how he approaches the game on a personal level. He said: “My two older brothers both supported Man City growing up. But then growing up Roy Keane and Paul Scholes were my heroes so I watched Man United as well, so it was quite conflicted in my household. It’s a historic football club and some of my favourite players have come from there. “I think the only team I ever feel like that against is West Brom being from Wolves. But other than that, you get old and it doesn’t serve you. You can have games where you’re so emotional invested and really want it all through the week and then come Saturday you’re flat because it’s too much emotional energy used. I want to beat them as much as I’d want to beat Tottenham or anyone else.” Reflecting further on some of his idols growing up, particularly Keane, Morsy said: “He was one of my early football heroes. The Paul Scholeses, the Roy Keanes, that sort of decade of football. At Wolves, Paul Ince and Alex Rae were the players who I used to admire and watch a lot. “All top players but all very passionate players leading from the middle of the park. A player like Roy Keane could do everything and there wasn’t much he couldn’t do.” This weekend will not be the first time Morsy has faced Manchester United, having previously come up against them for Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup in 2017, a tie which the Latics lost 4-0. “It was good, to be fair,” Morsy reflected. “The result wasn’t good on the day but that was the first time I’d played against a calibre of team like that in a cup competition. It was great to go to Old Trafford and see them and it was a great experience.” Morsy’s most recent midfield partner at Tottenham was Jens Cajuste, while the Blues skipper has also been partnered with Kalvin Phillips and Massimo Luongo so far this season. Asked on the differences between his midfield teammates, Morsy said: “They’re completely different players. Kalvin’s more of a natural six and Jens is like an attacking eight. Both have really good qualities but both have completely different playing styles which is what you want. “You want to build a team where players can come in but also express their personalities and their abilities as well, you don’t want everyone to play exactly the same way because people have different qualities.” Despite his age, Morsy remains hungry to improve with every match and every training session. The 33-year-old says playing in the Premier League for the first time has not felt too different but the opportunity to improve against higher quality opposition is helping his own game. “In the end it’s just another game, it’s 11 men against 11 men,” he said. “It’s the same pitch we’ve played on for three years, the outside bits a bit more but actually if you come off social media you probably don’t even get that, in the end it’s the same. “It’s always been a target of mine to keep improving and keep getting better. When you play against better players and you see different things it forces you to do that. Of course, my biggest goal is always to keep improving.” Since Kieran McKenna’s arrival, Morsy has been almost an ever-present in the Blues side and remains so in the top flight. Having started 10 of Town’s 11 league games this season, he was forced to sit out of the trip to Brentford due to a minor hamstring injury. He said: “It was probably a five-day injury, to be honest. If the game was two days later I probably could have played, but that’s part and parcel. I’m experienced enough to know just to get on with it.” It is no secret that manager McKenna, a former United assistant and supporter, had interest from other clubs during the summer. Morsy was asked how different it would have felt if Town had a different manager this season to the one that brought them up. “It’s a hard question to answer because we don’t know,” he responded. “The manager has been very committed to the journey and to get back-to-back promotions, it would have been hard for him to walk away after seeing that because of what he’s built. “I’m sure he would have liked to see the team in the Premier League and that’s what he’s done and we’re all grateful for that decision.” The captain is no stranger to a yellow card, with the former Middlesbrough man currently on four for the season and one away from a one-match suspension with the threshold not passed until after the Chelsea match on December 30th. “No, not really,” Morsy said when asked if that plays on his mind. “You can’t be criminal to get a booking for kicking the ball away or something like that but ultimately you’ve got to put it at the back of your mind and play.” As for international honours, Morsy has not been capped by Egypt for more than a year and looks set to remain absent under manager Hossam Hassan, despite previously stating he was open to returning to the set-up and adding to his nine current caps. Morsy said: “Probably not under the current manager. He hasn’t contacted me or he has made it clear that he doesn’t see me in his plans, but you never know in football.”
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