Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has insisted that his side must enter survival mode after suffering a third straight defeat across all competitions, this time at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Club captain Bruno Fernandes’s red card for a second booking gave Wolves the advantage, with Matheus Cunha scoring directly from a corner.
Cunha then teed up substitute Hwang Hee-chan to wrap up a 2-0 win deep in stoppage time as Amorim’s 10th match in charge ended in a fifth defeat, leaving United in 14th position in the Premier League table.
After the final whistle, Amorim spoke to reporters in his press conference and was asked whether the Red Devils needed to be concerned by teams below them.
He said, “Yes. In this moment we have to survive and have some time to work on the team. We already knew it when I start this job and you start with a team in the new idea and without any training and just in the games.”
“We already knew it and it is a long journey like I said in the first day and we have to continue. We have to fight in these bad moments because this is football.”
On whether United can still dream of clinching Europa, he replied, “No, no, no. We have to work on a lot of things in our club., inside the pitch and outside of the pitch, in each game and use every minute of training and game to improve the team.”
On how long it takes to make a positive mark, Amorim stated, “I have no idea. Instead of thinking about how much time I need to take, I have to just take it day by day, try and see the videos, using every minute of training to try and [help] us win some points. That is the most important thing in this moment.”
On whether he’s worried about Fernandes following a third red card of the season, Amorim told reporters, “I am always frustrated with the red card, but it can happen as he always want to go for the ball. It is not like he wants to stop the player with a yellow. He wanted to go for the ball, the guy got there first and there is a contact and that thing is tough on him also.”
Amorim further said about his team’s performance, “I think in the first half the game was not controlled, but we lack a little bit of aggression in the final third. In the second half we talk in the dressing room, [we] tried something different and we got the sending off.”
“Then the set piece is the same against Tottenham. After that I think we tried, by not playing very well, to score one goal. We were near the goal more than when Wolves scored the second one. We couldn’t score and then the last goal doesn’t matter because we are desperately trying to score a goal.”
“The idea needs time, I know that I said it before [to] you guys that this will be a tough moment and we are far from the end of this moment. That is it and we have we have to continue in this moment and focus on the next game.”
When it was put to him that the players might be worse than he initially thought, Amorim remarked, “I manage but I didn’t train. They need time to change as they are changing completely and the way of playing is hard on them and it is also hard on the staff as well to pass all the information on. ”
“Then when you do not get the results that is even harder. We have to believe and we have to continue. It is a tough moment and we have to focus on the next game.”
United are back in action on Monday when they host Eddie Howe’s Newcastle at Old Trafford.
Featured Image Naomi Baker 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!
