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.
Worst season since relegation - the stats
Manchester
United's 17 Premier League defeats this season are their most in a league
campaign since 1973-74 (20), when they were relegated to the second tier.
With
nine home Premier League defeats the Red Devils have suffered their
joint-most home losses in a single league campaign, along with 1930-31,
1933-34, and 1962-63.
Ruben
Amorim's side are currently winless in seven Premier League games (D2 L5),
their joint-longest ever run in the competition, also going seven without
victory from September to November 1992 (D5 L2).
They
have also fallen 1-0 behind 12 times at Old Trafford in the Premier League
this season, with only already-relegated Leicester (15) doing so more at
home in the 2024-25 competition, while it's the Red Devils' most in a
single Premier League campaign, overtaking 11 times in 2023-24.
This
was West Ham's first league win at Old Trafford since 2006-07, ending a
run of 16 league trips there without a win (D3 L13). West Ham completed
only their fifth ever top-flight double over Manchester United, after
1926-27, 1928-29, 1976-77, and 2006-07.
Europa League final 'by far the smallest problem in our
club'
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."
'There is a lack of urgency in everything we do'
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 OceanNewsUK 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."
