Ruben Amorim took aim at the focus of those at Manchester United and claimed that the upcoming Europa League final is not their biggest assignment after tasting defeat again in the Premier League
Ruben Amorim claimed that the Europa League final is “not the biggest thing” at Manchester United as he accused people of being solely focused on the European occasion. The Red Devils will face Tottenham in just over a week.
United have hit new lows in the Premier League this term but Europe has provided some respite for the team. Victory in Bilbao on May 21 will see the Manchester outfit qualify for the Champions League, which will go someway to salvaging their campaign.
Financially it would be huge, but Sunday’s loss to West Ham at Old Trafford highlighted the major issues that still exist. They’ve now lost five of their last seven league games – drawing the other two – with their domestic form in stark contrast to their European exploits.
Amorim watched his team hammer Athletic Bilbao in midweek, winning 4-1 at home to complete a 7-1 aggregate triumph. But the Portuguese manager has accused some of having their eyes on the Europa League final, whilst ignoring the apparent issues and claiming they shouldn’t be operating in the Champions League.
He said: “It’s a good image of our moment. But again, we need to change things. Only us can change things. We are missing that feeling of urgency and it’s something which is hard to explain. Everybody is focused on the final. The final is not the biggest thing in our football club.
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“We need to change a lot of things. If we don’t change the way we play and perform and feel this urgency of winning every game, we should not play in the Champions League. We should just stay in the Premier League and learn how to be competitive one week at a time. The biggest focus on our football club is to change a lot of things. It’s not just the final.”
United were dealt a major scare when Leny Yoro was forced off in the second-half. The French defender has become an integral figure in his debut season and Amorim was evidently concerned, but has since claimed the issue looks minor. “We hope it’s nothing serious. We will assess the player but I think it is a small thing,” said the ex-Sporting Lisbon boss.
Sunday’s defeat continued the team’s poor record at Old Trafford but Amorim hit the club with another reality check and claimed every loss cannot be seen as a crisis situation.
He said: “We need to be more aggressive and we need to feel that it is the end of the world when we are not winning a game. Especially when we are not winning. So it’s a big problem that we have here at the club. It’s a decisive moment in the history of the club. We need to address that.”
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