Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim admits he cannot hide from his dire record, and it is “normal” that Old Trafford legends criticise him.
On Tuesday, United’s record goalscorer Wayne Rooney told his BBC podcast, “the soul has gone” from his old club.
Amorim has won just 18 of his 49 matches in charge, including nine out of 33 in the Premier League, where he has yet to win two successive games.
Although senior Old Trafford sources are adamant Sir Jim Ratcliffe remains supportive of Amorim, failure to beat newly promoted Sunderland on Saturday will bring a fresh round of speculation over his future heading into another two-week international break.
“It is normal,” said the Portuguese, when asked about Rooney’s comments. “You can’t run away from the results.
“Then you have the baggage from last season, [although] last season for me doesn’t matter.”
‘I want to fight for this, but the problem is now’
The backing for Amorim delivered by sources close to Ratcliffe is understood to be in line with private conversations that have taken place internally over the past couple of weeks, including after the Brentford defeat.
While the assurances may be honest, dealing with the fall-out from continuing negativity is not easy and Amorim accepts a time may arrive when Ratcliffe runs out of patience.
“Nobody here is naive,” he said. “We understand we need results to continue the project.
“We will reach a point that is impossible for everyone because this is a very big club with a lot of sponsors, with two owners.
“Of course, it’s a dream to be here. I want to continue here and I want to fight for this, but the problem is now.”
There are some inside Old Trafford who feel that instead of Amorim being sacked, he may simply resign.
It was a point he raised in the aftermath of last season’s Europa League final defeat and he accepts he does think about it in low moments, but insists it will not happen.
“No,” he said. “That is a board decision. I cannot do that.
“Sometimes I [do] have that feeling and losing is hard. It’s so frustrating when you create the momentum, go to the next game and something happens. That feeling sometimes hurts me a lot.
“But I think it would be really hard to leave if I don’t do everything to follow my career here.”
Mid-season friendlies planned to boost finances
Meanwhile, Amorim has given the green light to the club to arrange money-spinning mid-season friendlies.
United arranged matches in Malaysia and Hong Kong at the end of last season, which generated about £10m.
Once it was clear they would have no European games this season, it was always likely the club would look at filling the gap.
They missed out on between £80m and £100m in revenue as a result of losing last May’s Europa League final to Tottenham and, while prize money for the Carabao Cup is minuscule by comparison, the shock second-round exit at League Two Grimsby cut off that revenue stream as well.
Fellow European heavyweights AC Milan are in a similar position, as are German side RB Leipzig and Europa League specialists Sevilla.
While no games or dates have been agreed upon yet, the likelihood of United combining at least one game with some warm-weather training in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or Dubai at the end of November, December, or January is high.
United travelled to Saudi Arabia in January 2008, losing 3-2 to Al Hilal in a testimonial match for former Saudi Arabia striker Sami Al-Jaber.
Amorim knows he is in no position to challenge any decision to organise friendlies given the financial state of the club.
“We have to do it,” he said.
“We knew that when we missed Europe, we had to compensate [for] a lot of things, including our fans and the budget.
“So we are putting [it] all together to do that.”
United’s supporters remained behind Amorim following last season’s dismal fare, when they finished 15th in the table – their worst performance since the 1973-74 relegation campaign – and were beaten in the Europa League final, in the belief and hope this season would be substantially better.
Amorim assured fans the situation would improve because he had more time to work with his players without the midweek distraction of European football.
That is not how the first six games have materialised as United have suffered three defeats already and find themselves 14th in the table.
When asked what assurances he could offer supporters that the situation will improve, Amorim added: “It’s not the time to say, it is the time to show.
“I look at the games this season and, for me, they are completely different, but I have nothing to say at this moment.”
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