Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim clarified that his discussions this week with the club’s co-owner Jim Ratcliffe were not crisis talks, despite the team’s poor start to the season.
United have collected just four points from their first four Premier League matches and faced a humiliating exit from the League Cup at the hands of fourth-tier Grimsby.
Since taking over in November, Amorim has secured only eight wins out of 31 Premier League games. Nonetheless, the former Sporting Lisbon boss mentioned that Ratcliffe assured him of United’s commitment to a long-term project.
“A new contract,” Amorim joked when asked about his meeting with British billionaire Ratcliffe.
“No, it is normal things, just to show the support and explaining that it is a long
project.”
Last season, United finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest top-flight position since 1973-74, and missed a chance to qualify for the Champions League after losing the Europa League final to Tottenham.
Despite these disappointing results, Amorim stressed that United are improving and need to be more decisive in both defense and attack.
“This is football at the club with maybe more pressure in the world, but we want to win,” he added.
“I think last year I was very critical of the way we play. I think we are playing well until the boxes, defending and attacking, we need to be more aggressive in the boxes. We need to be more clinical.
“The rest I think we are improving compared to last year, I think we are in a better place. But again, we need to win, we lost against Arsenal and (Manchester) City, and here, losing, especially in the beginning after last season, is a problem.”
United face another challenging match when Chelsea visit Old Trafford on Saturday, but Amorim will have more options with Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha returning from injury.
