Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has admitted that his side may currently be embroiled in a battle to beat the drop, following their 2-0 defeat against Newcastle.
Newcastle ran United ragged in the first half, with Casemiro and Christian Eriksen struggling to cope with the visitors’ midfield trio of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimarães and Joelinton.
The Magpies’ goals were grabbed by Alexander Isak and Joelinton.
United remain 14th in the Premier League table and have now lost three consecutive games at home for the first time since the 1962/63 season.
After the final whistle, Amorim spoke to BBC and gave his verdict on United’s current woes.
He said, “It is really hard. It is one of the worst moments in the history of our club, and we have to accept that. Another loss in front of our own supporters.”
“In this moment it is really tough to turn around results because we don’t have a lot of time to train the base of the way we want to play. In the bad situations you need that base to hold on to. In the second half they really tried, it was more like the value of the team.”
“We were close to scoring once but they were better.”
He added, “Yes we are [too easy to score against] but also in some moments we had some chances to score and didn’t and that also makes a difference.”
On whether this season may be a fight to avoid the drop, Amorim replied, “I think that it is a possibility and we have to be clear with our fans. We have to change something but this season will be really hard on everybody. It can make us stronger and we have to fight.”
Before the break, while United were struggling to get a foothold in the game, Amorim looked to his bench and brought on Kobbie Mainoo in place of Joshua Zirkzee.
Amorim told BBC about the early personnel change, “That is really simple when the game starts and finishes for people to address. The idea was different. It was a real tough moment for Josh [Zirkzee] and I felt that I had to do something in that moment.”
“I don’t like to do that to my players. In that moment the team was suffering and I made the decision thinking of the team. I am really sorry for Josh.”
“You can feel it [low confidence] every single day which is a bad thing but it is also a good thing because they are feeling. It is hard for them to cope with the losses on the pitch but we have to continue. There is no other way.”
Marcus Rashford was named on the bench after being excluded in the last four United matchday squads. Amorim said about the England international, “Every player on the bench is close to going on the pitch.”
United return to action on Sunday when they face table leaders Liverpool at Anfield.
Featured Image Stu Forster via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
