Ruben Amorim urges Roy Keane and other critics to enjoy Bruno Fernandes

Fernandes scored a hat-trick to send Manchester United through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Ruben Amorim has told former Manchester United players criticising captain Bruno Fernandes to stop seeing his performances in “black and white” and appreciate the colours that paint the overall picture.

The 30-year-old has often been the lightning rod during poor performances or patches, with former skipper Roy Keane fuming “talent is not enough” as he tore into his leadership a fortnight ago.

Fernandes said he was using those eye-catching remarks as fuel after firing United to the Europa League quarter-finals with a hat-trick in Thursday’s 4-1 last-16 second leg win against Real Sociedad.

“I think he’s so important for this team,” he said. “And you can see it by the numbers, and you can see from these last games, he’s always the guy that scores.

“It’s not the most important thing, it’s not the only thing, but he’s always there.

“When you play for this team, you have to be prepared for the critics and I understand that former players had a lot of success here and the standards for them were so high that they see the things like that sometimes as black and white.

Ruben Amorim (left) is interviewed by Sky Sports Roy Keane (right) — Roy Keane, right, has been critical of Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes (Bradley Collyer/PA)

“Again, he’s always there, trying his best, so I’m really proud to coach a player like him.”

Fernandes’ availability for United is almost as important as his others qualities, especially given the Red Devils were without 11 players for a third straight game.

Those issues could ease slightly when the Red Devils head to struggling Leicester on Sunday, with Manuel Ugarte returning to the bench against La Real as Harry Maguire pushes to return from an issue of his own.

Bruno Fernandes shoots right footed towards goal as he scores his hat-trick — Bruno Fernandes completes his hat-trick at Old Trafford (Nick Potts/PA)

“I’ve already said that I really love Mason Mount,” Amorim said. “Because I see him, I know how he suffers, I know how he does everything right.

“He eats right, his physical aspect is perfect. He’s trying too much, maybe he’s thinking too much about everything.

“He was a European champion, he’s a really talented player. And when the player does everything like he does, he will always have the support of everybody here in the club.

Mason Mount tries to intercept the ball during a drill at a Manchester United training session — Mason Mount (centre) is closing in on a Manchester United return (Martin Rickett/PA)

Asked if the England international has a chance of featuring against Leicester, Amorim said: “I think he’s going to the bench. We’ll see. But we need every player and if he’s fit, I’m going to take him.

“He cannot play too many minutes, but just five minutes of Mason Mount is perfect.”