Ruben Amorim has no intention of quitting but admits he will be under pressure if Manchester United fail to qualify for the Champions League.
Three days after suggesting that he may need to step aside if United’s dreadful Premier League form continues next season, Amorim clarified his comments by saying it is more likely he will be sacked by the club.
The 40-year-old cut a more relaxed figure on Wednesday compared with his despondent mood after Sunday’s defeat to West Ham at Old Trafford left United in 16th place in the table.
‘What I am saying is that since I arrive here, I am always talking about the standards and I cannot see the team having the results in the Premier League and not take responsibility,’ he said.
‘I am far from quitting. What I am saying is we need to perform or else they will change us. That is a normal thing.’
Although United face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Friday night looking to avoid finishing the season one place above the relegation zone, they can still qualify automatically for the Champions League by winning next week’s Europa League final against Tottenham in Bilbao.
Ruben Amorim has insisted he is not close to quitting Manchester United despite suggesting he could depart
The United boss has now said that he has ‘a clear idea of what to do’ and ‘understands the problems’ in the team
Amorim admits that United failing to qualify for Europe for only the second time in 35 years, and missing out on a £100million jackpot, will leave him under pressure at the start of next season.
‘Yeah for sure, if we don’t win (the Europa League final). But I’m not concerned about that,’ he added.
‘It’s going to be really bad. I don’t want to use that as an excuse, but it’s going to be really tough. The patience of the fans and you guys (the media), the patience for next season and the limit will have to be perfect. Personally, for me, I think the Champions League is more important for everything.
‘We are supposed to be in the Champions League. The Europa League here is not enough. You have that feeling here. The Champions League is the best way to help us get to the top in a few years.’
However, having suggested at the weekend that his team are as far away as ‘the moon’ from being able to juggle Champions League and Premier League football, Amorim still believes it would benefit United’s development to have a season out of Europe.
‘That is my feeling. We need more time with the team. We need to arrange a lot of things in Carrington to not think game by game by game.
‘We proved this year we need to be a better squad. If we want to win European games and then be really competitive in the Premier League, it’s going to be tough.’
It emerged this week that Amorim has paid for 30 of his backroom staff to take their families to Bilbao after learning that they would have to buy their own tickets as part of the cost-cutting by co-owners Ineos that has already led to widespread redundancies.
Amorim is unsure if injured defenders Leny Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt and Diogo Dalot will be fit to face Tottenham
He explained: ‘The situation is simple. You know we have a lot of things, people leaving, a lot of changing in the staff.
‘It is complicated for the club to start giving to other members of staff, so it is a really hard position.
‘That was explained so in that moment, my reaction was to help. It is not going to change my life. Then we talk to the players and they have the same reaction. Everyone does. They want the staff and their families there in the final.’
Amorim is unsure if injured defenders Leny Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt and Diogo Dalot will be fit to face Tottenham, and is unlikely to risk any of them at Chelsea.
