Rúben Amorim told reporters on Wednesday that “we are underperforming” as his Manchester United side prepare to face Real Sociedad in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie.
The Red Devils were held to a 1-1 draw at the Reale Arena last week, with Joshua Zirkzee’s opener effectively cancelled out by a Mikel Oyarzabal penalty.
Amorim expressed a hope that progressing to the quarter-finals could have a positive impact on United’s league form throughout the remainder of the season, with the club currently 14th in the Premier League.
In his pre-match press conference, he said: “[Qualifying for the quarter-finals is] also important to give us more energy to continue the season. We know that. It’s not going to change a lot the idea for the next season but it will give us more energy to finish the season in a different way. So tomorrow again it’s going to be a really important game for us.”
“I think if we’re being honest, in this moment […] we are underperforming this season. So we can always change that. I include myself in that part of underperforming. You are talking about players like Casemiro, for example, that won everything. We know that these kind of players can play so much better, so that is the focus,” Amorim added, referring to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s public criticism of the squad in an interview earlier this week.
“He was honest on that,” the 40-year-old accepted, “so the focus is to change his mind and all the people’s minds.”
“A lot of people say I am not good enough for the club and my feeling is that you can change that with results. In training, I feel [the players] want this really bad and especially for tomorrow.”
Asked about his relationship with Ratcliffe, Amorim offered a diplomatic answer and suggested that “we are really blunt and honest with each other.”
“We are quite similar in that way, so I always felt the support of the board and especially from Sir Jim. I cannot tell you the conversations, but they are simple conversations, clear conversations and honest conversations.”
“I already knew that [senior figures at the club were behind me]. All these conversations I’ve already had in the past with them. After matches, they went to the dressing room and talked to me to explain this. To say it publicly is really good for the coach but I say the same thing. We need results and we need to improve the team. But since day one, I felt the support from everybody here.”