Ruben Amorim has admitted he’s losing sleep as he struggles to turn things around at Manchester United.
Amorim has been clear from the outset that he’ll need to be afforded time to reverse United’s slump, implementing new training ground methods while trying to get his players to embrace a totally new philosophy and style of play.
The Portuguese coach arrived at Old Trafford with a burgeoning reputation having led Sporting CP to two league titles in the space of four seasons, but is continually under the spotlight with each passing defeat.
United’s 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace last Sunday was their fifth home Premier League defeat under Amorim, with particular concern centered around the lack of goal threat carried by a team that was famed during their Sir Alex Ferguson heydey for their attacking prowess.
And Amorim, speaking ahead of Friday’s night FA Cup tie with Leicester City, admits he’s having to adjust to things not going well – stark contrast to how his managerial career had gone prior to succeeding Erik ten Hag.
“Yeah, it’s really hard, just the way we are sometimes losing. I understand that we had a lot of games without training, but even then, in that context, I feel that we should do better,” Amorim told the assembled media at Carrington. “And when you are a coach, you want to win games and then when you are a coach that feels all the time that feeling of winning and to cope with everything when you have these problems.
“Of course, you have difficult moments, it is hard to sleep and whatever. One good thing that I learned in this moment, is even in the good moments or the bad moments, my idea is so clear that I make the same decisions without any other concerns. I just want to help the team to win, and I know that we can change things in the other side.
“I know that we need to survive in this moment because in football, when you don’t win, you have problems.”
Amorim did reiterate that United’s board knew of his concerns over a mid-season appointment, and suggested that he feels the club has his back no matter how badly things may currently be going on the pitch.
“I think it’s a little bit more hard for me to cope with that than the board, because the board already know that. And I explained all the risks. Everything that has happened, I explained to the board and they said the same thing. We need to start now. We are doing that, but I understand that, in this moment, with a lot of losses, especially at home, the environment is really hard.
“But I feel the support – if you’re asking that – I feel the support of the board, and I’m not the slightest bit worried about that. It’s just the pain of losing, that is the hardest thing to cope.”
