Manchester United: Amorim concedes to feeling ‘overwhelmed’ in first season at Old Trafford

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim conceded he often felt overwhelmed after taking over at Old Trafford last season.

Amorim took over last November following Erik ten Hag’s exit, but the Portuguese oversaw a dismal domestic campaign for United, one which saw them finish in the bottom half of the Premier League for the first time as they ended the year 15th.

United did reach the final of the Europa League, but suffered a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham, denying them Champions League football for this season.

Amorim came in for consistent criticism for his stubbornness in refusing to change his system, while he was regularly downbeat in interviews and press conferences.

It looked as it the campaign would follow a similar pattern early this season, but United have enjoyed an upturn in fortunes since the nadir of their EFL Cup defeat to Grimsby Town, losing just two of their last nine matches.

They sit seventh in the table, just a point off the top four, allowing Amorim to experience very different emotions to those he endured last season.

Amorim reflects on first Manchester United season

“I felt like, last year, I was always overwhelmed with the games,” Amorim told Premier League Productions. “I didn’t have the time to settle down, to understand that my job is not just the pitch, it’s outside the pitch, [it] is to push for everyone.

“I felt like, last year, I was really emotional all the time, because I was struggling with the results.

“I’m always saying that this is going to take time, but I’m the guy that has the bigger responsibility to take care of everything and to control the emotions a little bit better.”

United, though, have let opportunities to amass more points slip, losing 3-1 at Brentford and, in their last two games, dropping points from winning positions in 2-2 draws at Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.

Amorim’s side have conceded the most second-half goals (14) in the Premier League, but Amorim believes he understands the reasons why.

“I think we lose the intensity,” he said. “I think we had some problems in some games, that we lost, I think two times, Casemiro, because of some pain. Harry Maguire, the same thing.

“They are key players, not just in the way they play, the experience they have, [but also] the set-pieces, and people don’t take that into consideration.

“I think we lose some [impetus] when we are in advantage, we lose that thing of continuing to press the same way.

“It’s a lot of things together. I think we think about ‘let’s not suffer a goal’. And our mindset, it should be like ‘we have one goal, we just need another opportunity to kill the game’.

“So, I think it’s mental, but I think it’s also physical, so we need to improve in that aspect.”

Amorim anticipates tough Toffees test

United face Everton on Monday as the Premier League returns following the international break.

Amorim enjoyed a 4-0 win over the Toffees in his third game in charge of the club last season, but he is anticipating a more difficult fixture this time around.

“First of all, I think they are a better team than they were,” Amorim said.

“They are really compact. You cannot see the results, you need to see the games, to understand that 3-0 against Tottenham [shakes head]. If you see the game, it’s set-pieces

“I think [Jack] Grealish is doing really well. He can push that team, can give weight to that team. [Iliman] Ndiaye is an amazing player.

“They can put [James] Garner as a right-back. But also [Jake] O’Brien, I think, is going to play, because of set-pieces.

“So, all these things, [it] is a more complete team, and David Moyes is doing an amazing job. It’s going to be really, really tough to win the game.”