Ruben Amorim admits he doubted whether he would reach a year as Manchester United manager and sometimes feared “it’s not meant to be” during a wretched first season in charge.
Saturday’s trip to Nottingham Forest lands on the one-year anniversary of the Portuguese being named Erik ten Hag’s successor and comes during the best spell of his tenure.
A run of three successive Premier League wins has brought hope back to United, who stumbled home in 15th last season and lost the Europa League final as Amorim’s position came under intense scrutiny.
Asked if there were moments when he doubted whether he would make a full year in charge, the 40-year-old responded: “It’s hard to say that… sometimes. Sometimes in some moments.”
The United boss paused and then said with a laugh: “I know that you are going to write but there were some moments that were tough to deal (with).
“To lose so many games, that was so hard for me because this is Manchester United. The position that we had in the last year, putting all the attention on the Europa League and not winning. That was massive.
“So, I had some moments that I struggled a lot and I was thinking that maybe it’s not meant to be.
“Today is the opposite, so you can write this one! Today I feel that and I know that that was the best decision in my life and I want to be here, but for that I need to win against Nottingham.”
Amorim says he will continue to be a “happy man” if his “team is playing well and running a lot” at the City Ground, where his side are looking to end a run of three straight Premier League losses to Forest.
The United boss says there is no chance of him resting on his laurels if they win or hitting back at the critics given how quickly things can change at a club that have been through the “storm” he warned of last December.
“It’s hard to say,” Amorim said when asked if that storm has passed. “We need to think positively but we also need to be prepared that football is like this.
“We are not that team that I can say to you ‘no, no, no, now we can lose here or then, but we are going to maintain (momentum)’.
“I trust in my players more, I think they trust me more. That will come with wins and you can sense that because everyone now is saying ‘how connected they are’ and ‘they believe in the manager’.
“It’s about winning games. It didn’t change a lot because against Arsenal I saw the same team, so I don’t know.
“I think that we are in a better place but it’s also really good to be always with that feeling and prepared that something can change. If we have that feeling, we will pay attention to the details, we will maintain that course of our path.
“I can say that we are a better team in this moment and we feel that and we know that and that can help us to overcome better the bad moments.”
