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Reuben Amorim admitted that Manchester United’s struggles have taken their toll over the past seven weeks.
Every initial managerial surge Amorim has enjoyed since being traded Erik ten Haag he faded quickly in mid-November and United will head to Anfield on Sunday on a run of four successive defeats, six in their last eight, after dropping to 14th in the Premier League.
Amorim warned after the 4-0 win Everton in early December that “a storm would come” and so it proved as United lost their last three league games, conceding seven and conceding none.
Amorim’s cross-town rival Pep Guardiola admitted he had sleepless nights and struggled to digest food during Manchester City’s recent woes, and Amorim said he felt the weight of United’s problems – even with his family moving from Portugal last week to join him.
“You can see my face, you can compare it to the way I come and now,” he said with a laugh. “Of course there is a lot of pressure. For me, it is a pride, but also a performance. It’s harder when we don’t do well.
“When I arrived I explained everything before, even when after Everton you talked about the top four, I explained that I expected this, but it is difficult to deal with all the problems and bad games and losses.
“It’s really hard. It should be hard. The only thing that can help me is training with the players. And I also have my family here now so it’s so different and that can help me a lot.”
United were miserable in the first half of Monday’s defeat at Newcastle and were lucky Eddie Howe’s side did not score four or five goals in the first half as United’s midfield pairing of Christian Eriksen and Casemiro were overrun in the absence of the suspended Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes.
With the results going against them, the pressure is on as United languish seven points above the relegation zone midway through the season.
“They are anxious, sometimes scared on the court,” Amorim said of his players. “We have to deal with it. We need the leaders to step up to help the other guys and I am the most responsible person to improve the performance.
“You see the players trying, sometimes too anxious, too scared to play football because this is a difficult moment and we will help the players to be better.”
After warning of that impending storm in early December, Amorim was forced to talk about the prospect of relegation this week, something he said could be the shock United’s players needed.
“I know it’s a problem here to say such things, but I think at this moment in our club everyone must understand it, so let’s focus on reality. We know we are Manchester UnitedI shouldn’t talk about those things, but I wanted to be very clear with the fans and the players.
“I think it’s really important at this point. Anything can happen, but we’re focused on winning games, on improving our performance, so it’s not a problem in the future.”
Fans at Old Trafford continued to chant Amorim’s name during the second half of Monday’s defeat, something the manager said was “weird” in the circumstances but wanted to reassure the Old Trafford faithful that better times are ahead.
“I’ll do my best,” he said. “I will do my best. I am giving everything to help the club and we will succeed. I know it’s hard to understand right now, but we’ll make it.”