Ruben Amorim has admitted Manchester United's struggles are taking their toll on him after a troubled first seven weeks in charge.
Any initial new manager bounce Amorim enjoyed after replacing Erik ten Hag in mid-November has quickly evaporated and United will head to bitter rivals Liverpool on Sunday on a run of four straight defeats, six in their last eight, having slumped to 14th in the Premier League.
Amorim had warned after the 4-0 win over Everton at the start of December that the "storm will come" and so it has proven as United have lost their last three league games by conceding seven and scoring none.
Amorim's cross-city rival Pep Guardiola has admitted to sleepless nights and struggling to digest food during Manchester City's recent problems, and Amorim said he likewise felt the weight of United's nosedive - even with his family having moved over from Portugal to join him.
"You can see in my face, you can compare it to the way when I arrive and now," he said with a laugh. "Of course there is a lot of pressure. For me, it's the pride and also the performance. It's harder when we don't perform well.
"When I arrived I explained everything before, even when you guys were talking after Everton about the top four, I explained I was expecting this but it's hard to cope with all the problems and the bad performances and the losses.
"It's really hard. It's supposed to be hard. The only thing that can help me is training with the players. And I also have my family now here so it's so different and that can help me a lot."
United were atrocious in the first half of Monday's loss to Newcastle and lucky that Eddie Howe's side did not score four or five as United's aged midfield pairing of Christian Eriksen and Casemiro were overrun in the absence of the suspended Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes.
With results going against them, pressure is building as United languish just above the relegation zone at the mid-point of the season.
"They are anxious, sometimes afraid on the pitch," Amorim said of his players. "We have to cope with that. We need the leaders to step up to help the other guys and I'm the most responsible person here to improve the performances.
"You can see the players are trying, sometimes too anxious, too afraid to play football because this is a difficult moment and we will help the players to be better."
Having warned of that impending storm at the start of December, Amorim was forced to talk about the prospect of relegation this week, something he said might be the shock United's players need.
"I know it is a problem here to say that kind of thing but I think in this moment in our club everybody has to understand that, so let's focus on the reality. We know we are Manchester United, I'm not supposed to talk about these things but I wanted to be very clear with the fans and the players.
"I think that is really important in this moment. Anything can happen but we are focused to win games, to improve performances, so that is not an issue in the future."
Fans inside Old Trafford were still chanting Amorim's name during the second half of Monday's defeat, something the manager said felt "strange" under the circumstances, but he wanted to reassure the Old Trafford faithful that better times are coming.
"I will do my best," he said. "I will do my best. I am giving everything to help the club and we are going to succeed. I know it is hard to understand that in this moment, but we are going to succeed."
How it works
A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank
Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night
The charge is stored inside a battery
The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode
A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes
This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode
When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again
The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge
No limit on how many times you can charge
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
