Ruben Amorim may still retain the support of the Manchester United fans, but his son has been giving him a hard time over his poor start to life at Old Trafford.
United are 15th in the Premier League going into Saturday’s match against Everton, with Amorim having won just four of his 14 league games so far. The Portuguese boss has struggled to implement his 3-4-2-1 formation, with a leaky defence and goal-shy forward line combining to create United’s worst campaign in 51 years.
The 40-year-old grew used to winning at Sporting Lisbon, where he won two league titles and two domestic cups, but has been brought back down to earth at United since taking over from Erik ten Hag in November. Speaking to former United defender Rio Ferdinand, Amorim revealed just how difficult he has been finding things.
“If you said to me in the beginning that you are going to win four matches in 14, I don’t believe you. I would say you are crazy, you know. And that for me is the hardest part,” Amorim told Ferdinand in an interview for TNT Sports.
“It’s not just that (winning). It’s your pride as a coach – it doesn’t matter the context. You are at Manchester United and you lose nine games in the Premier League. As a player… you know that when you get in this moment sometimes it is really hard to turn things around. And we are in this moment. So, I was expecting hard days, but not like this.”
Asked how he relaxes, Amorim also revealed that his eldest son Miguel has taken to playfully winding him up: “Nowadays it’s really hard to relax. It’s just family. You go home, you find a nice place to live. I think living in Manchester, I really love it, my family have adapted really well. Even with the weather, they don’t care. The results are the worst thing. It’s just [about] enjoying with family.
“When I get inside my home I’m not Ruben the coach, I’m Ruben the father and I have a job to do at home. They don’t care about winning or losing. Sometimes they say ‘Here you cannot win football matches’. My oldest son says all the time ‘In Portugal we win all the time!’ It’s like enjoying with family, trying to live a different life.”
Asked by Ferdinand what he would say to reassure United fans, Amorim said: “It’s really hard to say anything to them. I prefer to try everything every day, to try and change the results and the performance. I never saw anything like this, the way they behave with us, not just with me, with the players. The way they behave at away games, home games, they are unbelievable.
“I’m doing everything I know and we are still losing and that is really hard to say that. I just want to say that I’m giving everything I have. I took a lot of time to choose a club to leave Sporting and I chose this club. I know [it’s the right club]. But after all that work, to fail and fail and fail is really hard. I’m giving everything, but sometimes your best is not enough. Let’s hope we can change this.”
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