The Manchester United coach, Ruben Amorim, has stated his intention to remain at the helm of the team, although he has not assured his continuity beyond the international break. The recent defeat against Grimsby Town, from League Two, in the Carabao Cup has intensified the pressure on the Portuguese coach.
United faces Burnley on Saturday at Old Trafford, seeking their first win of the season. Amorim hinted in post-match interviews that he would assess his position with the club’s directors during the two-week break.
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Is this the beginning of the end for Amorim?
In a press conference on Friday, when asked if he could guarantee his permanence after the international break, Amorim replied that he believes “it will not change”, but avoided giving a definitive answer.
I don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s my idea [to continue], but I’m not going to promise anything [about] what the future holds. I am the Manchester United coach and I believe that’s not going to change.
Ruben Amorim
The team arrives at the match against Burnley seeking their first victory of the season. After a positive performance in the 1-0 defeat against Arsenal on the opening day, the team had an irregular performance in the 1-1 draw with Fulham.
Amorim expressed his surprise at what was seen in the match against Grimsby and pointed out that his players are still suffering the consequences of last season, when United finished in fifteenth position in the Premier League, their worst result in more than 50 years.
“I feel like the players are always thinking about the past,” he stated. “They think there’s something in the water here or in the food. It’s in our minds. We just need to think about the next game. We dropped the level [against Grimsby]. Now we have to respond in the next game.”
“It’s not about the result, it’s the way we play. In the last match we had some moments where I had that feeling, that when it’s difficult, everyone tries to do their own thing. Football is curious because we had a great pre-season, a great match against Arsenal that we lost, but then those 30 minutes against Fulham we clearly lacked confidence in the game, and we took that feeling to the next match.”
