Amorim admits he may have to leave if poor form continues

Ruben Amorim has conceded he should step aside as manager if Manchester United take their poor league form from the end of this season into the next campaign.

United’s appalling finish hit another low note at Old Trafford as they lost 2-0 to a West Ham side that had failed to win any of their previous eight games.

As well as questioning his own future, Amorim said: “We are losing the feeling that we are a massive club and it’s the end of the world to lose a game at home.

“If we are not scared of losing a game as Manchester United and don’t have that fear anymore, it is the most dangerous thing a big club can have.”

Amorim’s side have only beaten relegated duo Ipswich and Leicester in the league since 26 January and are on their joint worst winless run in the Premier League of seven games.

“Everybody here has to think seriously about a lot of things,” said Amorim.

“Everybody is thinking about the [Europa League] final. The final is not the issue. We have bigger things to think about.

“I’m talking about myself and the culture in the club and the culture in the team. We need to change that.

“It’s a decisive moment in the history of the club.

“We need to be really strong in the summer and to be brave because we will not have a next season like this.

“If we start like this, if the feeling is still here, we should give the space to different people.”

On a three points for a win basis, United are heading for their worst tally since their 1930-31 relegation campaign, when they would have collected 29 points in a 42-game campaign.

United are on 39 points and 16th in the table, with only Europa League final opponents Tottenham and the three relegated teams below them.

Amorim said he was “embarrassed” by the situation. The Portuguese knows regardless of whether United win or lose in Bilbao on 21 May, there has to be major surgery of the kind Ralf Rangnick spoke about during his spell as interim boss following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2021, otherwise, he will be out of a job.

Asked what he thought when he looked at the Premier League table, Amorim replied: “How is a manager of Manchester United supposed to feel in that position? Embarrassed.”

If United beat Tottenham in the Europa League final, they will qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Conservative estimates suggest it could be worth around £100m to the club, even if they were to get knocked out in the play-offs given they would have had five home games and generated crucial revenue through prize money.

While owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family might view that as an imperative given they are addressing losses in excess of £370m over the past five years with a second round of redundancies, and limits on perks like free tickets and travel to Bilbao for staff members, for Amorim, the prospect of competing on the highest European stage is a dubious one.

“The final is by far the smallest problem in our club,” he said.

“We need to change something that is deeper than this. Playing in the Premier League and Champions League for us is the moon. We need to know that.

“I’m not concerned about the final. They will be focused but I don’t know what is best, if it’s playing in the Champions League or not.”

The damning allegation United’s players pick and choose their games has lingered for some considerable time, dating back to Jose Mourinho’s time as manager at the club, which began in 2016.

Players have come and gone and successive managers have been sacked but the issue remains, albeit never with consequences in terms of results as acute as this season’s have been.

“In the Europa League, we don’t play quite well but we have a little bit of that urgency in having to win games,” he said. “We manage to find a way to win. We are so focused.

“In these games in the Premier League, sometimes we are not focused. It’s hard to explain that. There is a lack of urgency in everything we do. It’s a big concern.”

The concern is so big, according to Amorim, it is eating away at United’s status.

What used to be known as a ‘big club mentality’ is disappearing.

“There’s a lack of urgency when we’re defending our box and there’s a lack of urgency when we are near the box,” he said.

“We need to be more aggressive and feel that it is the end of the world when we are not winning a game.

“There is a feeling that it’s OK because we cannot change our position so much. It is a big concern.”

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy though told BBC Match of the Day, he feels there is too much negativity coming from Amorim.

He said: “I get confused with some of Amorim’s interviews and the amount of negativity that comes from them.

“I am not a big fan of a manager continually talking negatively about how bad things are. I would like to hear more solution-based answers.

“They have got a final to look forward, he hopefully has a summer of a lot of activity in the window and moulding his own team. I always felt the leaders of the clubs I was at if they were trying to look forward it helped the players, rather than constant negativity.”–BBC