United View: Amorim fumes after yet another defeat

Ruben Amorim was candid in his thoughts following Manchester United’s 2-0 defeat to West Ham on Sunday, suggesting that there is an acceptance of losing and a risk of losing the feeling of being a big club.

Sunday’s result leaves the Reds 16th in the table, a pathetic return for a team that, at one time, had never finished outside the top three in the Premier League. 

With Amorim saying, “I think everybody has to think seriously about a lot of things here. Everybody is thinking about the final, the final is not the issue in this moment in our club, we have bigger, bigger things to think [about]. And we have to change a lot of things in the end of the season.”

Their European campaign has propped up United’s season, and they are remarkably just a game away from securing Champions League football next season, provided they can overcome Spurs in the final.

Despite this prospect, Amorim has urged for improvement, stating, “I don’t want to talk about players, I’m talking about myself, the culture in the club, the culture in the team. I have the feeling, we need to change that, and we need to be really strong in the summer and to be brave, because we will not have a next season like this is if we start like this.”

It’s a sentiment shared with much of the fanbase that standards at United have been declining for many years. 

At one time, qualifying for Champions League football was, by itself, seen as acceptable, with little sign the club was serious about challenging for the league title.

INEOS have their fair share of blame in this issue, deciding to stick with Erik ten Hag following his FA Cup win, despite finishing 8th in the league. 

This was something wanted by the majority of fans, who wanted to see him work under the new sporting structure, but it can now be seen as a wrong decision.

Ten Hag was seen as a fresh start for United, a young up and up-and-coming manager with league titles back in Holland who built a team capable of going toe to toe with Europe’s elite, however, this didn’t translate to Old Trafford even though he qualified for the Champions League in his first season.

You could argue that little has improved under Amorim, given the club’s league position. 

However, it’s so obvious that he lacks the type of players fitted to his system.

 Granted, there is no promise of success under Amorim, but until United can recruit over the summer, we won’t see a team truly in his image.

How they do that is yet to be seen. 

Winning the Europa League would certainly help from a financial perspective, but with so many areas of the pitch that need addressing, United will need to be smart in how they spend their money. 

Recruiting young and affordable players seems to be a viable option, although they’ll need to bring in players who are ready for first-team football.

The Reds still have to travel to Chelsea before the final, and while some rotation is expected before a game of this magnitude, if Amorim’s sentiments are to be taken at face value, a spirited performance will be essential to turning around his feelings about the team.

United have shown under Amorim that they are capable of performing well away to big teams, and they’ll have to demonstrate that once again at Stamford Bridge. 

A good result would put them in a good place before their trip to Bilbao next week.