Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has shockingly revealed that he and his players are not scared of losing games, highlighting this as the biggest problem behind the club’s woes.
This comes after United fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of West Ham, to slip to 16th place in the Premier League table.
United have suffered 17 top-flight defeats this term, nine of which have come at Old Trafford. Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen scored for the Hammers to condemn United to their latest disappointing result.
After the final whistle, a seething Amorim spoke to BBC Match of the Day and gave his verdict on the performance.
He explained, “I think it’s quite similar to some games that we’ve had, especially at the end of this season. We have more chances than the opponent and then we suffer two goals that we can avoid.”
“There’s a lack of urgency when we’re defending our box. There’s a lack of urgency when we are near the box. We need to be more aggressive and we need to feel that it is the end of the world when we are not winning a game. Especially when we are not winning.
“So it’s a big problem that we have here at the club. It’s a decisive moment in the history of the club. We need to address that.”
“It’s a big problem because it’s mentally. We are not scared of losing a game as Manchester United. We don’t have that fear anymore and that is the most dangerous thing that a big club can have.”
“I think it’s a concern. It’s not the players fault. It’s my fault, I’m responsible. If we cannot change that really fast we should give our place to different persons.”
“We need to perform in a better way. Of course it’s not the best thing we are changing all the time. A lot of players are tired, we have to manage that. That is also a concern. We should be prepared to play in the middle of the week.”
Leny Yoro was withdrawn in the early stages of the second half after sustaining an injury.
Asked for an update on the Frenchman, Amorim remarked, “We hope it’s nothing serious. We will assess the player but I think it is a small thing. It’s a good image of our moment. But again, we need to change things. Only us can change things. We are missing that feeling of urgency and it’s something which is hard to explain.”
“Everybody is focused on the final. The final is not the biggest thing in our football club. We need to change a lot of things. If we don’t change the way we play and perform and feel this urgency of winning every game, we should not play in the Champions League. We should just stay in the Premier League and learn how to be competitive one week at a time.”
“The biggest focus on our football club is to change a lot of things. It’s not just the final.”
Amorim also spoke to Sky Sports and remarked, “If you look at the goals that we suffer we can avoid these goals. The lack of energy, of urgency. That is the most dangerous things in this club. You can feel it at the beginning of the game. Between our box and opponent’s box there is a lack of urgency. That is something we have to change in this club.”
“I am responsible for that. It is frustrating because we are so near the goals. We have such a lack of urgency to protect our goal. This is week by week. We don’t play so well in the Europa League but we have a different sense of urgency.”
“It’s something we need to work on. It’s inside the pitch and outside the pitch. If we are not able to do we have to go away and give the space to different people. All of us. We are going to face a team from Premier League so we are going to struggle. Of course we are going to be more focused, and that is a concern because we have to be focused every game.”
“For me it doesn’t matter if we win the Europa League because the problems are much bigger than that.”
On Yoro’s injury, Amorim confirmed that the issue he picked up against West Ham is the same one that troubled him earlier in the season.
Featured image Marc Atkins 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!
