Ruben Amorim lamented just how hard his Manchester United job is after his injury-hit team lost 1-0 at Tottenham on Sunday.
Amorim named a bench full of teenagers and watched United lose for a 12th time in the Premier League this term to drop to 15th. If anything, United's form and performances have dipped since his appointment as the players struggle to adapt to his 3-4-3 system.
Amorim's problems continue to mount with Amad Diallo – perhaps the only bright spark of recent weeks – now ruled out for the rest of the season.
Diallo sustained an innocuous ankle ligament injury in training, but was not the only absentee in north London with Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte and Toby Collyer unavailable with knocks, while Leny Yoro and Christian Eriksen were ill.
The aforementioned six joined the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw and Mason Mount on the treatment table.
“I have a lot of problems. My job is so hard but I’m here to continue my job to the next week with my beliefs. I will try to do it, I will try to win again,” said Amorim, having watched his side beaten by a solitary James Maddison strike.
“In this moment it is more than the idea or system. In this moment it is like survive and to think the small things, improve the small things for the next game, to not even look at the table or the schedule or nothing.
“Of course I have to because we have a lot of games and we have three competitions with a small squad at the moment.
“That part is my part but the players, everyone in Carrington, just focus on the next game, the next training and that is our goal.
“Just focus on the next game and let’s do everything to win some games to finish the season and then think in the big picture.
“In this moment it is to try to keep the players healthy, recover some players and to focus on what we have to in the next game. That is our goal.”
However, former United defender Gary Neville was critical of Amorim’s tactics, and in particular his deployment of midfielders Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes, during his punditry work for broadcaster Sky Sports.
Neville said: “United may win today and may score goals, but I have to say that the structure of the team is awful.
“The gaps in that midfield between Fernandes and Casemiro. That’s a tactic, they’ve been asked to do that, Bruno’s been asked to come out to this side and it isn’t right.
“Bruno Fernandes is playing right-wing, the two of them in midfield are split, it’s embarrassing. You wouldn’t see this in under-9s or under-10s football.”
Amorim expressed hope that Yoro and Eriksen would return for Saturday’s clash against in-form Everton at Goodison Park but does not expect Mainoo to be available.
He added: “It’s hard to know. Let’s wait a few more days. I think Leny and Chris were sick so they will recover.
“Of course Chris has the heart situation and we have to be really careful with that. It’s nothing about the heart. I am just saying the heart rate has to be controlled because he has a fever. I think he will recover.
“The rest we will see. Kobbie is out. Amad is out for sure until the end of the season.”
Quizzed on what the injuries are down to, Amorim insisted: “I think it is everything together. Amad was alone. He was doing a tackle. The feet were sticking in the grass and some players felt during training sickness so it is everything.
“Sometimes in moments, everything goes wrong but we have to face the challenge and to focus on the next game. That’s all.”
No sympathy from Postecoglou
Sunday's game pitted perhaps the league's two worst underperformers with both Spurs and United languishing in the bottom half of the table despite being among the world's richest clubs.
Spurs fans protested against chairman Daniel Levy before the game, while manager Ange Postecoglou has seen his efforts to steer the team back up the table hampered by constant injuries to his players.
He had little time for Amorim's complaints about missing players.
“If I check my office I don’t have any sympathy cards from other managers so I can tell you that hasn’t happened,” said the Australian.
“I could see today Ruben, he’s had to put a team together, play players out of position, have kids on the bench well.
“Welcome to my world but that’s for one game, now do that for two months.
“Any club, do that for two months because, I thought United were good today considering all of that.
“We’ve had our days where we were good, we’ve beaten Liverpool in this spell. We’ve had other significant victories but do that for two months.”
