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Ruben Amorim has identified Manchester United’s biggest problem as “the way we face competition”, admitting that the attitude and mentality in the squad has to change.
Amorim has won 15 of his 38 games across all competitions since being appointed in November, the lowest win percentage (39.5%) of any permanent boss since Frank O’Farrell (37%), 53 years ago.
In the Premier League alone, it’s six wins from 25 for United, who sit 16th in the standings and can only rise as high as 13th if results over the final two rounds of the season go their way.
The Portuguese, who oversaw two title wins with former side Sporting CP and had them on course for another when he left, described that record as “embarrassing” as he demanded change this summer. There are, however, not expected to be any alterations in the dugout as United will not sack Amorim even if they fail to win the Europa League.
Amorim said “something is wrong in the way we are playing football”, but not “tactically and technically”. It comes down to a culture that too easily accepts draws and losses, an alien concept to the successful former generations of years gone by.
“It’s the way we face competition and the way we suffer and the way we get mad because we are losing, and the way we protect the goal. These things we need to improve, and sometimes it’s not just inside the pitch, it is outside the pitch,” he explained.
“That feeling that I’m talking to fight until the end, the way we face competition. It’s not okay to lose, it’s not okay to draw.
“It doesn’t matter if we can change our position in the league or not,” the head coach added, referencing the current run of seven win-less Premier League games coming at a time when a competitive domestic finish has already long since been out of reach.
“That feeling is nothing about confidence. It’s about the belief and the understanding that we are Manchester United, and we don’t want to be the worst in the league. Our position is unacceptable and, for me, that is not a lack of confidence, that is a lack of something more profound.”
