Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has admitted that a section of his players are “anxious” and “afraid” ahead of his side’s showdown with Liverpool on Sunday.
United are currently 14th in the Premier League table having suffered five defeats in six matches.
It doesn’t get easier for them, with their next assignment being away to table leaders Liverpool. Speaking on the embargoed section of his presser, Amorim said about his stars, “They are anxious and sometimes afraid on the pitch.”
“We have to cope with that. We need the leaders to step up and to help the other guys – and I’m the most responsible person here to improve the performances.”
“You can see the players are trying. Sometimes they are too anxious and too afraid to play football because this is a difficult moment.”
“For two days we have just been doing the basics, focusing on our idea to play football, and doing our thing. The supporters are tired of this moment so it is strange to hear them chanting my name. I’m giving everything to help the club. I know it is hard to understand right now but we are going to succeed.”
Amorim joked that the pressure of managing United is affecting his once youthful appearance and demeanour.
He quipped, “You can see in my face – you can compare the way I arrive to how I look now!”
“Of course when you are losing there is a lot of pressure, but for me it’s more about the pride and also the performance. It’s even harder when we don’t perform well because, when I arrived I explain everything. Even when you guys were talking after Everton about us finishing in the top four, I explained that I was expecting this.”
“It is hard to cope with all the problems here and the bad performances and the losses. It is really hard – but it is supposed to be really hard. The only thing that can help me is the training with the players – and I also have my family now here so it’s so much different. It can help me.”
On his previous statements that United are in a battle to avoid relegation, Amorim emphasised, “I know it is a problem here for the manager to say those kinds of things but, in this moment, in our club, everybody has to understand.”
“So let’s focus on the reality. We know that we are Manchester United. I know I am not supposed to talk about these things. But I want to be very clear with the fans and the players. I think that is really important in this moment.”
“Anything can happen, but we must be focussed on winning games and to improve our performance. Then it (relegation) won’t be an issue in the future.”
He told journalists that he is more concerned with United’s progress as opposed to finding weaknesses to exploit in Liverpool’s shape.
Liverpool vs. United kicks off at 16:30 GMT.
Featured image Alex Livesey 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!
