Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has admitted that the club's recent defeat in the Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur made him fear for his job. United lost the match 1-0, compounding what has already been a difficult season for the club.
The defeat in Bilbao means that United will likely finish the season in their lowest league position since 1974. Amorim, who took over from Erik ten Hag in November, has only managed to win six Premier League games since his appointment, drawing six and losing 13.
Speaking after the game, Amorim expressed his disappointment and acknowledged the pressure he was under. "If the board and the fans feel that I'm not the right guy, I will go the next day without any conversation about compensation," he said. "But I will not quit. I'm really confident in my job. And as you can see, I will not change nothing in the way I do things".
Despite the poor results, Amorim stated that he believes he can turn things around at Old Trafford. He emphasized the need for the club to deal with the immediate pain of the Europa League final defeat before assessing the future. "What I can say is that I think it was clear we were the better team but then we managed not to score again and that is really hard to win football matches but the guys tried everything to win the game," he said. "In the future we will have time to assess everything".
Amorim also admitted that he finds it strange that his job is not in immediate danger, especially when compared to other managers in similar situations. He noted that Tottenham's manager, Ange Postecoglou, might face dismissal even if he had won the Europa League final. "I know that in this kind of club, also Tottenham but especially Manchester United, it's strange because you have some coaches here that lose games and are sacked," Amorim said. "It's hard to explain. People see what we are trying to do and see I'm thinking more about the club than myself".
He further explained that he had communicated the challenges ahead to the board from the beginning and that they understood the difficulties the team was facing. "People, especially the board, understand that we have a lot of issues that in the context are really hard," he stated.
Despite the uncertainty, reports suggest that Manchester United's co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, highly values Amorim and would attempt to keep him at the club even if he considered leaving. The club's hierarchy seems prepared to stick with Amorim and give him the opportunity to rebuild the team.
Amorim's next challenge is the final Premier League match of the season against Aston Villa. A defeat in that game would mean the team finishes the season with only 39 points, a tally that would have resulted in relegation in three previous Premier League seasons.
