Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim was certainly relieved following his team’s 3-2 victory over Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Devils had failed to win their first three contests of the season. Their latest outing ended in a humiliating elimination from the Carabao Cup at the hands of fourth-tier side Grimsby Town.
After Wednesday’s contest, Amorim flirted with resignation, admitting that he sometimes feels he hates his job and players.
Fortunately, Saturday’s result at Old Trafford offered a timely boost for the Portuguese’s mood. Even though they needed an injury-time spot kick to win the contest, the 40-year-old insists Man Utd deserved the result based on the action.
“It is three points, if you look at the game, we should solve it in the first half and control the game, but we are fighting to the last minute because of things we overcomplicate,” said Amorim in his post-match interview with PLP via BBC.
“Look at the first half, we have so many chances to score. You feel you can control the game. But one throw-in, one set piece. I shook my head, because sometimes football is like this. We now have two weeks with a lot of opportunities. This was a game we had to win, but we have a lot to do.”
Ruben Amorim explains his spot-kick ritual as Man United pip Burnley
The former Sporting CP manager has developed a habit of refusing to watch his team’s penalty kicks. This was the case last weekend when Bruno Fernandes failed to convert against Fulham, and the same ensued during the agonisingly lengthy shootouts in Grimsby.
Therefore, no one was surprised as Amorim couldn’t bear to watch Bruno’s last-gasp attempt, but thankfully, the outcome was more pleasant this time.
The Man Utd boss explained what’s behind this approach, but insists he wasn’t reflecting on his future at that particular moment.
“I like to see the image of the fans. What has to be has to be. In that moment, I was thinking, it would be fair to win the game. And I did not think Bruno would miss a second in a row.”
“My future? No, I was just thinking Bruno was not going to miss.”
Amorim on Matheus Cunha & Mason Mount conditions
Finally, Amorim was asked about Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount who picked up knocks during the match
“I don’t know. We will check them. We need those guys really bad to be really competitive.”
The manager admitted that the Brazilian’s injury potentially resulted from playing a “full game in the middle of the week”, while revealing that he didn’t want to risk another injury, which is why he hooked off Mount at halftime.
