‘Embarrassed’ Ruben Amorim admitted that he may need to walk away from Manchester United if he cannot turn their disastrous form around quickly next season.
Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by West Ham made it 17 league defeats this season, 13 of which have come under Amorim’s watch.
In a fiery post-match press conference Amorim fumed at the lack of ‘urgency’ in his team, accused his players of not caring about losing matches anymore and said that United have ‘lost the feeling’ of being a big club.
Asked how he is feeling, a spiky Amorim said: ‘How a manager of Manchester United is supposed to feel in that position: embarrassed and it’s hard to accept.
‘Everybody has to think seriously about a lot of things here. We need to be really strong in the summer and be brave.
‘We are losing the feeling of we are a massive club and it’s the end of the world to lose a game at home. I think that is the biggest concern in our club.’
Man United boss Ruben Amorim pictured after seeing his side lose 2-0 to West Ham on Sunday
The Red Devils now sit 16th in the Premier League after losing 17 of 36 matches this season
Asked if he can be the man to turn things around, he ominously added: ‘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.’
This was as bemused as Amorim has been after a match since arriving to replace Erik ten Hag earlier this season.
He has long insisted that winning the Europa League – they will play Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao on May 21 – will not salvage their season and he was adamant here that the upcoming final is the least of his concerns.
‘To be honest with you, I’m not concerned about the final,’ he said.
‘It’s by far the smallest problem in our club. We need to change something that is deeper than this.
‘We are showing that in the end of this season that we are not… Playing in the Premier League and Champions League for us is the moon. So we need to know that.
‘I’m not concerned about the final. They will be focused and I don’t know what is best, if it’s playing in Champions League or not. So let’s think about Chelsea to improve a lot of things.’
Captain Bruno Fernandes agreed with his manager that too many players have one eye on the final, which they may have to play without Leny Yoro after he went off injured.
Amorim admitted after Sunday’s game that he may need to move on if things do not improve
Yoro did leave the stadium without a protective boot or crutches but Amorim said he needs further assessment on Monday morning.
Those who finished the match were in Amorim’s sights in the end even if he did not want to target individual players.
But the absence of fear around losing is the one key problem that Amorim thinks if he cannot fix, he will need to be replaced by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos.
‘I think it’s a feeling,’ he said. ‘I will not talk about culture because we are talking about this in this moment. It’s a feeling that is the most dangerous feeling that we have in the big club.
‘You see these games in the Premier League, sometimes we are not focused. We don’t have that feeling that we need to win to go to the next stage, like we have in the Europa League. So it’s something that is mentally in our team.’
Amorim now faces one more Premier League game away to Chelsea before playing against Tottenham in Bilbao that will look to salvage this wretched campaign that could still see them finish 17th in the table.
