Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim will have been left relieved after his side went into the international break off the back of a last-minute winner against Burnley in the Premier League.

The Red Devils had picked up one point from the first two matches in the division and lost to League Two Grimsby in the League Cup before Bruno Fernandes' last-gasp penalty secured all three points at Old Trafford against the Clarets.

It has been far from a perfect start to the campaign, with one win in four games in all competitions, and there has been debate around the manager's calls on Kobbie Mainoo's game time.

Why Kobbie Mainoo is not starting for Man Utd

The England international has not started any of the club's three matches in the Premier League. He also came off the bench in just one of those games, which was the 3-2 win over Burnley.

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Mainoo has found himself on the bench because the signings of Mateus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have moved Fernandes into a central midfield role alongside Casemiro.

This has left the 20-year-old academy graduate without a space in the team because of the 3-4-2-1 set-up that Amorim has favoured throughout his time at the club so far.

The quotes from the manager in the graphic above explain why Mainoo has not started in the Premier League, because he sees him as an alternative to the captain, rather than an alternative to Casemiro or Manuel Ugarte.

Amorim could find a way to get the English maestro into the starting line-up, though, by finally changing his formation from a 3-4-2-1 to a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1.

Why Ruben Amorim should change his Man Utd formation

The Portuguese head coach has been criticised in some quarters for his lack of flexibility with his formation. It is not hard to understand why that has been the case when you look at his record in the Premier League.

As you can see in the table above, Amorim has lost 15 of his 30 matches in charge of the club in the division, winning just eight, so it may finally be time for a change.

That would allow Mainoo to slot into a midfield three that suits him, with Casemiro or Ugarte as the number six and Mainoo, Fernandes, and Mount battling it out for the two number eight roles.

In order to facilitate this change in formation, Amorim must ruthlessly ditch Luke Shaw from the starting line-up, as he will need to remove one of his three centre-backs to put another central midfielder in.

Shaw, who earns £150k-per-week, has not done much of note in his three starts in the Premier League this term, losing 56% of his duels and failing to make a single interception, per Sofascore, and is not a natural centre-back, which is why taking him out seems to be the most logical move.

The English defender, who was described as "disastrous" by podcaster Adam Joseph earlier this year, could be dropped to the bench to be a back-up to Patrick Dorgu at left-back, which would then allow the formation to change to a four-back with three central midfielders to revive Mainoo's career.

Given that Fernandes is the talisman and captain of Manchester United, it seems unlikely that Mainoo's career is going to be revived at Old Trafford unless Amorim makes this change in system, which is why he should consider it.

Bruno Fernandes

This would also allow Fernandes to push further forward, with Mateus Cunha, Amad Diallo, and Bryan Mbeumo competing for places out wide, to impact matches in the final third.

Therefore, this is a move that could work out for the best of the team and for Mainoo by getting United's attacking players into their best roles to affect games consistently, and help Amorim to finally string a run of wins together after a dismal time in Manchester so far.