Amorim: 'Lost' Man United turn focus to 'survival'

Ruben Amorim has accepted Manchester United are in a relegation battle following their 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United and admitted his “focus is on survival.”

United slumped to a fourth straight defeat in all competitions and a third consecutive loss in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Monday. It has left Amorim’s side 14th in the table, just 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.”

United were 2-0 down inside the first 20 minutes against Newcastle after goals from Alexander Isak and Joelinton. Amorim responded by substituting Joshua Zirkzee after just 33 minutes with the Dutchman roundly jeered by the home supporters as he walked off.

“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.”

The loss to Newcastle condemned United to their worst points haul, 51, in a calendar year ever in the Premier League and a trip to first-place Liverpool next up on the fixture list on Sunday.