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Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has attributed his players’ on-pitch struggles to a lack of sufficient training time and the challenge of establishing a strong tactical foundation.
Amorim spoke to reporters after United were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle at Old Trafford.
Alexander Isak and Joelinton scored in the first half to condemn the Red Devils to a fourth consecutive defeat across all competitions.
The result left United in 14th place in the Premier League table with just 22 points at the halfway stage of the season.
The Red Devils are only seven points above Ipswich Town, who occupy the third relegation slot. In his interview with BBC, Amorim admitted that United are in a battle to beat the drop this season.
He told journalists in his press conference, “It’s really hard. I think it’s really hard on everybody and you can feel it on the pitch. I think we showed some improvements in the first games, especially against City, Tottenham and even at Arsenal in the first half.”
“But we are losing that with the lack of training and the lack of belief after so many losses and some difficult moments, you suffer some goals in the beginning of games and then it’s really hard during all the games.”
“It’s a really tough moment for everybody and I think the players losing everything, the small things we try to work on in training, they lose everything.”
“They don’t have time to build the base to cope with difficult moments, so it’s really hard in this moment.”
Amorim conceded that he is embarrassed by United’s league position.
“Yeah, it’s also my fault in this moment because I think the team is not improving. I think it’s a little bit lost in this moment, so it’s a little bit embarrassing to be a Manchester United coach and to lose a lot of games. But we have to cope with difficult moments in the life of everybody, so it’s a hard moment.”
“When you have these kind of moments, especially in the big clubs, you work really hard to turn things around, especially when you don’t have a lot of time to train the basics to cope with the difficult moments.”
“So we have to acknowledge our position the way you see the league, that everybody can beat everybody, so we have to win games and to focus on surviving.”
He added, “I’m responsible, I don’t like to arrive here and make excuses. I think people are tired of excuses in this club and I think sometimes I talk about relegation because of that. I think our club needs a shock, you know?”
“It needs a shock and we have to understand that. It’s a very difficult moment and we have to fight for the next game and implement the idea to win games.”
“And also to have a performance because I think we are losing some things from the last games.”
Amorim’s side are set to return to action in their first match of 2025, taking on Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday, January 5.
Featured Image Stu Forster via Getty Images
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