Defiant Amorim ‘won’t change’ philosophy at Manchester United
Ruben Amorim delivered a defiant response to suggestions he should change his 3-4-3 system at Manchester United following a 3-0 defeat at Manchester City by saying the club must “change the man” if they lose faith in his philosophy.
United suffered their third defeat of the season — two in the Premier League and a Carabao Cup loss against League Two Grimsby Town — as Pep Guardiola’s team ended their two-game losing streak with an easy win against their neighbors.
The loss left Amorim with a record of just 8 wins in 31 Premier League games since replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag last November and once again exposed his refusal to abandon the tactical lineup he has operated since arriving at Old Trafford.
But when asked by reporters if United’s poor results now merit a change in formation, Amorim said he had no intention of altering his approach.
“I won’t change my philosophy,” Amorim said. “If they [United hierarchy] want it changed, you change the man.
“I am not going to change my philosophy. I will play my way until I want to change. Guys, I understand [the questions] and I accept it is not a record you should have at Man United. But there are a lot of things that you have no idea about what happen in the last months.
“I understand everything. It is normal [if fans are losing faith], but I don’t accept that we are not doing better. We are doing better and the results don’t show that, the record says everything, I understand.
“My message is I will do everything. I will give everything. It is not my decision, the rest. I will do my best. I am suffering more than [the fans].”
United face Club World Cup champions Chelsea at Old Trafford next Saturday as the pressure begins to mount on Amorim. The former Sporting CP coach says he and his players need time to succeed, but he said that he is happy with their effort and attitude.
“We play against a coach that won six Premier League titles and we are building things, trying to fight against these teams,” Amorim said. “But I am not going to defend myself, it’s always the same question, trying to protect myself. We need to do better.
“If I look to the game, last year we drew and won against City and today we were a little bit better, but in the small details it was clearly not good enough.
“We are building things, but of course we need to win.
“I didn’t see one player in my team not giving the maximum. The rest is with me. The disappointment sometimes I feel we could run more, but I didn’t have that feeling today. “It’s my fault, not their fault and I am fine with that.”