Ruben Amorim insists he will not walk away from Manchester United despite the team’s struggles but accepts he will be sacked if results do not improve.
The head coach has picked up 34 points in his 33 Premier League games and the club are 14th in the table having finished 15th last season. United have won two of their opening seven matches in the current campaign, which include a Carabao Cup exit at Grimsby, and their defeat by Brentford last Saturday extended Amorim’s search for his first back-to-back league victories since arriving 11 months ago. Sunderland visit Old Trafford on Saturday and another defeat would put Amorim under greater scrutiny.
Amorim, asked whether he would consider resigning, said: “No, that is a decision of the board. I cannot do that. Sometimes I have that feeling and losing is hard, not to create the momentum. It’s so frustrating when you create the momentum, go to the next game, something happens. That feeling sometimes hurts me a lot. Also the players and especially the staff here. But that is not my decision and I think it would be really hard to leave if I don’t do everything to follow my career here.
“It’s a dream to be here and I want to continue here and I want to fight for this. But the problem is now what makes me suffer is to lose games, not to lose my job. You fear to lose your job when you have to pay the bills and I don’t have that feeling.”
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The 40-year-old also launched an impassioned defence of his 3-4-3 system, which has been the focus of much criticism. Amorim has used the formation in every game and it is yet to provide the consistency craved.
“Nobody here is naive,” Amorim said. “We understand that we need results to continue the project. We will reach a point that is impossible for everyone because this is a very big club with a lot of sponsors, with two owners. So it’s hard, the balance is really hard. What I want is to see my team – winning or losing – playing the same way and we are not doing that.”
Amorim pointed out that United had played in different systems under previous managers, also without success. “We need to play the same way, with the same power, with the same intensity, with the same focus. If we do that, it doesn’t matter what the system is.”
He confirmed plans to play lucrative midseason friendlies to help boost funds lost by not qualifying for Europe. “We have to do it and we knew it when we miss Europe,” he said. “We have our fans and our budget and we want to be with our fans around the world.”
United will hold a minute’s silence on Saturday and the players will wear black armbands as a mark of respect after the terrorist attack at a synagogue in the city on Thursday. Manchester City will do likewise for their Premier League and Women’s Super League fixtures this weekend. – Guardian
