Ruben Amorim says focus is on survival after loss against Newcastle United

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim admitted that the focus is on survival after suffering a 2-0 loss against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on Monday.

Alexander Isak and Joelinton scored in the first 20 minutes for the visitors to give them all three points. In fact, United could not take a solitary shot on target, which was really disappointing for the team.

This loss has pushed the Red Devils to 14th place in the Premier League standings and they are only seven points above the relegation places.

“I think [the team] is a little bit lost in this moment, so it’s a little bit embarrassing to be a Manchester United coach and to lose a lot of games,” said Amorim. “But we have to cope with difficult moments in the life of everybody, so it’s a hard moment.

“I think people are tired of excuses in this club and I think sometimes I talk about relegation because of that.

“We have to acknowledge our position the way you see the league, that everybody can beat everybody, so we have to win games and to focus on surviving. I think our club needs a shock, you know? It needs a shock and we have to understand that.”

Amorim decided to substitute Joshua Zirkzee after just 33 minutes and the Dutch striker was booed by the home crowd.

“It was a very difficult moment [for Zirkzee] and he is a human being,” said Amorim. “I’m responsible. When you have these kind of moments, especially in the big clubs, you work really hard to turn things around, especially when you don’t have a lot of time to train the basics to cope with the difficult moments.

“It’s a very difficult moment and we have to fight for the next game and implement the idea to win games. I think it’s really hard on everybody and you can feel it on the pitch.

“With the lack of training and the lack of belief after so many losses and some difficult moments, you suffer some goals in the beginning of games and then it’s really hard during all the games.”

Manchester United will next take on table-leaders Liverpool at the Anfield on Sunday.