Ruben Amorim puts Lisandro Martinez in his place as Man Utd boss singles out three players

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Ruben Amorim has revealed why he had to tell Lisandro Martinez 'no' as he spoke ahead of Manchester United's Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

The Reds travel to face Forest, looking to make it four straight wins in the top flight, after beating Sunderland , Liverpool and Brighton . Amorim's side would move up to second in the table - for a matter of hours at least - if they win at The City Ground.

In his press conference, Amorim was asked about the club's injury situation, including Martinez's fitness, Forest's start to life since Sean Dyche replaced Ange Postecoglou and how United are going to cope without Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo during AFCON. So, with that in mind, The Mirror has taken a look at the best from the Portuguese's chat with the media on Thursday.

Amorim has reminded Martinez who calls the shots after revealing the defender had made it clear that he desperately wanted to play against Nottingham Forest. The Argentine, however, has been told he is going to have to wait for his return to action.

Martinez has been sidelined since February after injuring his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) against Crystal Palace , but was back in training with his United teammates earlier this week.

Asked for an update on Martinez and whether he could make his return against Forest, Amorim said: "He wants to go to this one [Forest], he isn't going to this one. He's going to need time.

"He has started training with us. Slowly, he is going to get better.

"It's really good. He gives use that edge in every training session, that is also really good for us. The rest of the guys we have one day. I don't know about Harry Maguire , the rest are fit."

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Amorim has praised three Nottingham Forest players ahead of Manchester United's trip to the East Midlands. The United head coach singled out England stars Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson and Callum Hudson-Odoi as the main dangermen.

The United boss also revealed that he has watched Forest closely since Dyche took over the reins. The ex-Burnley and Everton boss has won one and lost one game in charge of Forest since replacing Ange Postecoglou earlier this month, beating Porto in the Europa League and falling to a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth.

"I watched against Porto, I watched against Bournemouth , the style of play is similar, with different characteristics," Amorim said. "I watched one game that we didn't pre-season with Sporting, so to try to understand how he played in that game. It's similar, he can change some characteristics of the players with the talent that they have, especially with Gibbs-White, Anderson, Hudson-Odoi, very good players.

"So we need to be prepared for a different game against Brighton. We had space to play. We are not going to have that space. You need to understand that we are not being the same team away and at home, so we need to improve the way we control the environment. Every tackle is a big moment for the opponent's fans, so we need to play better away. We are prepared for a very tough match."

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Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo won't be involved for a period in December and January due to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) - and Amorim believes the Reds are going to "struggle" without them.

The tournament is set to start on Sunday, December 21, before running through Christmas and the New Year , with the final taking place on Sunday, January 18.

"We will have time to suffer," Amorim said when asked about Amad and Mbeumo's expected absence. "We are going to struggle a little bit, but we already knew it's going to be an opportunity.

"When I watch the training, there are players that should be playing, but it's hard with one game to take some players from the team, because they are doing well also during the training in games. So other players are going to have the opportunity to help us.

"They are understanding the way we want to play, so if we are improving on that, the change of characteristics is not going to change the idea or the momentum of the team. But let's use Amad and Bryan in these games and we will see in general."

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