Ruben Amorim cast doubt over his future should “brave” summer moves fail after Manchester United’s “embarrassed” head coach raged about a lack of urgency and big club mentality.
The Red Devils returned to earth with a bump three days after reaching the Europa League final as fellow strugglers West Ham secured their first Premier League win at Old Trafford since 2007.
Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen scored in a 2-0 triumph that meant United have now lost an eye-watering 17 top-flight matches this term, with nine of them coming on home turf.
Their latest meek performance infuriated Amorim, who says there is a “lack of urgency in everything we do” and worrying mentality at a club sitting 16th in the standings.
“For me the biggest concern is that feeling that ‘it’s OK’, and ‘we cannot change our position so much so it’s OK’,” the United boss said.
“That is the biggest problem in our club in this moment because we are losing the feeling of we are a massive club and it’s the end of the world to lose a game at home. I think that is the biggest concern in our club.”
Amorim said it is “the most dangerous feeling that you have in a big club” – one that is without a league title since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Asked how it feels to see his side in 16th with two matches to go, the United head coach said: “How a manager of Manchester United is supposed to feel in that position – embarrassed and it’s hard to accept.
“I think everybody has to think seriously about a lot of things here. Everybody is thinking about the final. The final is not an issue in this moment in our club.
“We have bigger things to think and we have to change a lot of things in the end of the season.”
Amorim reiterated that United “need to change a lot of things during the summer” and acknowledged that could eventually lead to a change in the dugout having overseen just six league wins since succeeding Erik ten Hag in November.
Asked how he changes the players’ attitude given his struggles to do so, he said: “I don’t know, and I don’t want to talk about players. I’m talking about myself and the culture in the club and the culture in the team.
“I have that feeling, we need to change that and we need to be really strong in the summer and to be brave because we will not have a next season like this.
“If we start like this, or if the feeling is still here, we should give the space to different persons.”
So poor have United been that he even suggested that Champions League qualification may be an issue.
“To be honest with you, I’m not concerned about the final,” he said. “It’s by far the smallest problem in our club. We need to change something that is deeper than this.
“We are showing that in the end of this season that playing Premier League and Champions League for us is the moon, so we need to know that.
“I’m not concerned about the final. They (the players) will be focused and I don’t know what is best, if it’s playing Champions League or not. So, let’s think about Chelsea to improve a lot of things.”
As United head to Stamford Bridge on a seven-game winless streak in the league, West Ham are buoyed by the end of their eight-match wait for a victory.
Boss Graham Potter said: “Very pleasing result, especially in the context of what we’ve been through. It’s been a tough couple of months because results have been not what we’ve wanted.
“Performance haven’t been as bad but you know what it’s like. If you don’t get the results, you have to suffer in the Premier League and that’s what we had to do.”
