Defiant Amorim does not fear losing Man Utd job

Ruben Amorim has doubled down on his claims that he does not fear losing his job at Manchester United and once again rejected doubts over his tactical style.

United are 14th in the Premier League table heading into Saturday's meeting with Sunderland at Old Trafford, where their only two wins this season have come.

Amorim's side will be looking for three consecutive home wins for the first time since winning eight in a row between April and August 2023.

But that run does not paint an accurate picture of the growing concerns among some United supporters, after they fell to a 3-1 defeat at Brentford last time out.

Amorim has repeatedly denied any concerns over his future, and he reiterated those suggestions on Friday after a week in which Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher described his tenure as a "disaster".

"The worst thing in this job is not winning games. That is the same feeling I had in Casa Pia when I lost in the third division in Portugal," Amorim said.

"And then it's a job. Of course, it's a dream to be here. I want to continue here, and I want to fight for this. But the problem is now, what makes me suffer is losing games, not losing my job.

"You fear losing your job when you have to pay the bills, and I don't have that feeling. I just want to continue this. But when we don't win games, that is the suffering that I have.

"It is not the fear of losing the job. I don't care. I'm telling you, when we finish the game and you can see me, I don't care about my job. The hurt of not winning games or failing... that is the thing that hurts me the most.

"That is a decision of the board. I cannot do that. Sometimes I have that feeling, and losing is hard. It's so frustrating when you create the momentum, go to the next game, and something happens.

"That feeling sometimes hurts me a lot, also the players and especially the staff here, but it is not my decision. And I think it would be really hard to leave if I don't do everything to follow my career here."

The Brentford defeat marked Amorim's 200th top-flight game as a manager, though he has lost three more of his 33 games as United manager (17) than he did in 167 Primeira Liga matches.

The Opta supercomputer now deems United to have a 10.1% chance of being relegated, compared to just a 3.5% chance of making the top four.

Saturday will mark Amorim's 50th Premier League game in charge of United, though concerningly, none of the previous five managers at the club to reach that tally have won on their half-century outing.

The focus will once again be on the Portuguese head coach's starting XI, with criticism coming his way over an alleged insistence on maintaining his three-at-the-back formation.

Amorim says results have swayed public opinion on his tactics, even claiming he lined up in an alternate formation at Brentford that went unnoticed. 

"It's the results. Imagine that we won the first game against Arsenal and then you don't miss the penalty and you win against Fulham, even without playing really well. Imagine that this happened," he added.

"The trust in everything about our club, the system, the way we play, would be completely different.

"So, if you win, everything is okay. If you lose, you are doubting everything about yourself, about your team-mates, about the coach, everything. And that is normal.

"I talk with the players every day and I explain point by point what is happening with our team. So again, it's not a 3-4-3 all the time.

"I think we are thinking about the system, but I think we need to look at all parts of the game. This team played in different systems for many years, and you were talking about the lack of identity, no idea, whatever.

"So it's not the system. It's the small details, the way we play the game. And I understand what people think. 'What would this team be in a different system?' I don't know. Maybe this team would win more games.

"But if we don't change certain things, we are not going to win titles, whether we change to 4-3-3 or 4-4-2.

"And that is my point with the players, not with you, I don't want to change your minds, but my players. I guarantee you they are listening to you. All those opinions, they are putting that inside because we are not winning games.

"And they have to believe in me because I watch more [Man Utd] games than you guys combined."