Man United boss Ruben Amorim thinks this might be the worst team in the club's history
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Ruben Amorim delivered a withering assessment of his Manchester United team after its latest loss, admitting it might be the “worst” side in the club's storied history.
United fell to a 10th Premier League defeat of the season on Sunday, losing 3-1 to Brighton at Old Trafford.
“We are being the worst, maybe, in the history of Manchester United,” the United head coach said. “I am saying that because we have to acknowledge and change that.”
The 20-time English champion is 13th in the standings and closer to the relegation zone than Champions League qualification.
Amorim has lost seven of his 15 games in charge since succeeding former manager Erik ten Hag in November.
Six defeats from the first 12 home league games of the season is United’s worst run since 1893-94, according to the Premier League’s statistician Opta.
“We've got all the bad records as losing games at home, losing games in the Premier League, so we are really underperforming. And we need to to win games, that’s all.”
Ten Hag won two domestic cups in his 2 1/2 years at United, but in October he paid the price for the club's worst start to a season, with the team in 14th place and having lost four of its opening nine league games.
That was on the back of United's worst league campaign in 34 years last term when it finished in eighth place.
Amorim was hired after leading Sporting Lisbon to two Portuguese league titles and was expected to revive the club's fortunes.
But its onfield decline has continued and aside from a penalty shootout victory against Arsenal in the FA Cup, United has only won one of its last eight games in all competitions.
“Imagine what is this for a fan of Manchester United. Imagine what is this for me,” Amorim said. "So we we are getting a new, a new coach that is losing more than the last coach. I have full knowledge of that."
Yankuba Minteh, Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter scored for Brighton to seal its third win against United in as many seasons at Old Trafford.
Amorim has implemented a wingback system since taking over at United, which players appear to have struggled to adapt to. But the Portuguese said he would persist with those tactics.
“I’m not going to change no matter what, and I know we can succeed. But we need to survive this moment because I’m not naive and I know that we need to survive now," he said.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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