Rúben Amorim Refuses to Quit Amid Manchester United Struggles

Rúben Amorim says he has no plans to step down as Manchester United manager as pressure mounts amid a terrible league season.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Amorim insists he is “far from quitting” despite the seemingly impossible task at hand for the former Sporting CP manager, who is facing up to the threat of criticism affecting his project at the club after their joint-worst start to a Premier League season. Defeat to Brentford last Friday meant the Red Devils have won just six times in 23 league games under Amorim in what has been a difficult first year at Old Trafford.

WHAT AMORIM SAID

The 38-year-old told reporters: “I’m not quitting the job. I’m far from it. I know people speak about codes and that I won’t betray my code by quitting Manchester United, because it’s such a big club. But I understand if people think that’s too big for me, that’s fine, absolutely fine. That’s OK. I have my own responsibilities, I take the blame for my own decisions. We demand a lot from everyone, from the boys, from the staff. We are very demanding of the players.

“In games, we demand a lot and when we cannot produce that and we don’t win games, we are the main responsible people. I take full responsibility for it and I didn’t achieve what I wanted at the club at the moment. We still have a chance in Europe and I think that if we can bring the team into the Champions League, next season is a different story. But at the moment, that’s where we are.”WHAT COMES NEXT?United take on Fulham in the Premier League on Friday night, before hosting Tottenham in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final on Wednesday.

The club are backing Amorim despite his poor start in the Premier League, but he isn’t necessarily banking on it as he took a leaf from former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s book when called upon to address his future.”I don’t know if we spoke, I speak to so many people, I don’t know if was him, but at the end of the day, he has done what I like,” explained Amorim, who went on to insist the responsibility for the struggles lies elsewhere.”He always backed his principles until he couldn’t and he went his own way. At a big club like Manchester United, people do not understand sometimes the changes you have to make or the state of the squad, which was not always the best squad and it lacks depth compared to other teams.

“At the moment, I feel like I was consistent with my message, and I was honest. I will be honest until the end.”THE BIGGER PICTUREAmorim has not had a chance to rebuild his squad, instead relying on a mish-mash of players signed under Ten Hag, Andrea Berta and other former managers. While he remains highly regarded in the game, his Old Trafford story will provide another cautionary tale to those hoping for a fast track to the top.The young Portuguese coach feels the love from his players, but questioned whether he was being too strict in demanding signs of improvement from a talent pool he inherited.

“I believe we can do it. We didn’t do it at this moment,” Amorim added.”The reaction of the players shows us that something positive is happening with the players skill-wise.”Maybe we demand too much so early in the process, that’s the question.

“But when you see them happy in training, you see them giving everything like they are, it’s a clue for us. If that’s because they feel sorry for the manager or because they are trying to save whatever, I don’t know. But we have to read that.”DID YOU KNOW?United have failed to score in five of their last 11 Premier League away games, as many blanks as they had in their first 37 on the road in the competition under Rúben Amorim, with the Red Devils netting just four times overall across these last 11 matches.

Fulham have lost four of their six home games against Manchester United in the Premier League.Rúben Amorim’s United could become just the second team in English top-flight history to fail to win any of their first 11 Premier League away games, after Norwich City went 11 without victory from the start of the 1986-87 season.