Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim said his job is “so hard” after defeat at Tottenham left his side 15th in the Premier League.
The Portuguese coach oversaw an eighth loss in 12 league games as James Maddison’s 13th-minute goal gave Spurs victory.
The Red Devils once again struggled, although Amorim is having to contend with a 12-man injury list that led to him having to fill his bench with youngsters.
Amorim, 40, has provided a number of honest post-match news conferences since joining United and was once again in trademark form on Sunday.
“I have a lot of problems,” he told Sky Sports. “My job is so hard but I am here to continue my job to the next week with my beliefs and I will try to win again.”
Despite his side being behind for more than 70 minutes, Amorim did not make a change until the first minute of stoppage time, when he brought on 17-year-old Chido Obi.
The forward was one of eight teenagers on the bench and Amorim suggested after the game that he did not send more on during the game as he did not want to hinder their development.
“It is the hardest competition in the world,” he told BBC Sport.
“I am trying to be careful with them. I felt the team was pushing for the goal and I felt I don’t want to change. But they will play.
“I am here to help my players. I understand my situation, my job, I am confident on my work and I just want to win games.
“The place in the table is my worry, I am not worried about me.”
Although United are having to contend with a lengthy injury list, their statistics in the league this season continue to make for miserable reading:
They have lost 12 of their 25 games (W8 D5), their most defeats from their first 25 matches since 1973-74 (13), when they were last relegated from the top flight
They have lost eight of their past 12 games (W3 D1); since the date of the first match in that spell (4 December v Arsenal) the only sides with more defeats are the current bottom two – Leicester (nine) and Southampton (10)
Only Leicester (seven) have scored fewer first-half goals than United (nine). The Red Devils have scored just once in the first half of their past 10 games – a Bruno Fernandes penalty against Brighton in January.
Former United defender Gary Neville feels there has been little sign of things improving since Amorim succeed Erik ten Hag in November.
“The club will have to be patient but I would like to see the performance levels getting higher,” he told Sky Sports.
“This is a very average level that United are performing at week in, week out.
“The best thing about it [Amorim’s time in charge] has been his press conferences.
“This is a really poor United team.”
Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp added: “They are so short of top players, it is going to need a lot of time and patience.
“The problem is that when you are a club of the enormity of Manchester United you don’t want to hear that.
“It’s very difficult to watch if you are a Manchester United fan.”
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