Ruben Amorim is refusing to take anything for granted as he prepares to face Everton at Old Trafford on Monday, a match that coincides with the first anniversary of his debut in charge of Manchester United.

Amorim’s reign as United manager began with a 1-1 draw away at Ipswich, and since then, the Portuguese coach has faced plenty of challenges leading one of English football’s biggest clubs.

However, recent results have been promising. United currently sit seventh in the Premier League and remain unbeaten in their last five matches.

When asked about the upcoming schedule—where United face only three top-10 teams over the next ten games—Amorim was dismissive of the significance of the league table.

“It doesn’t matter. In our league, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “The table, it doesn’t matter, as everything is so tight. That is irrelevant. If you know the history of our team, we never know where the difficult games are. That is completely irrelevant in the Premier League.”

Much has changed at United since last November’s trip to Ipswich, where Marcus Rashford scored in the 1-1 draw. Rashford is one of five starters from that match no longer in the squad.

“My first thought was about how different the environment is in the Premier League, and I was excited by that,” Amorim reflected. “Right away, I knew we would struggle with some things. But it was that feeling of, yes, this is the best league in the world, maybe the best club in the world, but at the same time it is a big job and it is going to require a lot of work.”

Despite the challenges, Amorim remains optimistic.

“I think we are showing improvement, but the important thing is that it doesn’t matter what we did in recent games. We cannot forget that we started from a point where we suffered a lot last year. We have to take that into account and play every game as if it is the last or the first one.”

He added: “If you ask me, yes, I expect a team with more control and dominance, playing better football. Most importantly, we are more competitive in every way.”