Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has blamed his emotions for his post-match comments after the Grimsby defeat which provoked questions about his future, saying “sometimes I want to quit”.
In the immediate aftermath of the EFL Cup defeat by the League Two side on Wednesday, the Portuguese said his team “were completely lost” and that “something has to change”.
He opted not to clarify his comments, which even inside Old Trafford have been interpreted by some as the 40-year-old considering his future.
But speaking on Friday, he said: “To be really honest, every time that we have a defeat like that in the future I’m going to be like that. I’m going to say sometimes I hate my players and sometimes I love my players.
“Sometimes I want to quit, sometimes I want to be here for 20 years.
“I need to improve on that, it’s going to be hard but now I’m focused on the next game.”
In the aftermath of the penalty shootout defeat at Blundell Park, the first time United had ever lost a competitive game to a fourth-tier club, Amorim spoke to numerous media outlets.
To them all, he said ‘the team and the players spoke really loudly today’ without clarifying what he meant.
He also said he needed to talk to the club’s hierarchy next week and ‘think about things’.
Amorim accepts such pointed statements are bound to invite debate about his future and bring uncertainty.
However, it is something he is prepared to accept because he cannot curb his reactions.
“If you have this kind of behaviour, you have to understand you have things that are good on that and then you have the other side of the coin,” he said.
“I know you have a lot of experienced people talking about the way I should perform with the media, to be more constant, to be more calm.
“I do understand that. But I’m not going to be like that. This is my way of doing things. That’s why I have the passion I have. In that moment I was really upset and really disappointed and I’m going to be who I am. So prepare yourself.”
‘I’m the manager and I don’t think that is going to change’
United have no intention of sacking Amorim but, when asked later in Friday’s media conference whether he would definitely be in charge on Monday, he said he could not offer any guarantees.
“That is my idea but I don’t know what is going to happen,” he admitted.
“I am not going to promise you anything about what the future is going to be. But I’m the manager of Manchester United and I don’t think that is going to change.”
Amorim could have avoided uncertainty by not making such vague statements.
But he is prepared to accept the debate about his future because he is unwilling to curb his reactions.
“If you have this kind of behaviour, you have to understand you have things that are good on that and then you have the other side of the coin,” he added.
“I know you have a lot of experienced people talking about the way I should perform with the media, to be more constant, to be more calm.
“I do understand that, but I’m not going to be like that. This is my way of doing things. That’s why I have the passion I have. In that moment I was really upset and really disappointed and I’m going to be who I am. So prepare yourself.”
Remarkably, Amorim said it hardly takes him any time to calm down.
“I don’t need anyone,” he added. “I just need 10 minutes with myself alone.”
Asked to clarify his earlier ‘quit’ comments, the Portuguese described how he feels when he is an emotional state.
“It’s, ‘I want to quit, I don’t love my players, I sometimes hate my kids’. I’m going to be like that. It’s not going to change.
“Sometimes it’s a good thing, sometimes it’s a funny thing.”
Amorim would be willing to change system – if he believed it was right
Amorim is understood to retain the support of United’s ownership, who backed him in the summer, with the club spending around £200m on forwards Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbuemo and Benjamin Sesko.
But they are yet to win this season following a 1-0 loss to Arsenal and 1-1 draw with Fulham in the Premier League.
They host Burnley on Saturday at 15:00 BST.
“I felt we had a very good pre-season, we were playing better, we were being consistent in the way we played,” Amorim added.
“We played badly for 30 minutes against Fulham and that kind of performance [against Grimsby] I was really disappointed with everything, but now it’s a new game and we focus on that.”
Much has been made of his 3-4-3 system and questioned whether it fits his group of players.
His inflexibility has also been criticised.
Yet Amorim said he would be willing to change if he truly believed it was the right thing.
“I played all my life in 4-4-2 and 4-3-3,” he said. “The only system I didn’t play for one minute was 3-4-3.
“When everyone is doing this with his eyes shut then we are going to change a lot of things. This is the fun part.
“I think [if] it is better to change, I would change right away. But if I am going to change to something I don’t believe, the players will say he is telling us things he doesn’t believe in.
“It is not about the system. We didn’t lose against Grimsby because of the system.”
‘It could be a bumpy ride’ – Analysis
Strap yourself in, it could be a bumpy ride.
Amorim told it how it is when he spoke to the media on Friday. His jovial mood was back. He seemed more in control.
We have got used to Amorim speaking from the heart and, in explaining why he said what he did at Grimsby, it was as though he was purging himself.
The problem with speaking through emotion – and every manager has done this after matches at times – is at Manchester United, statements are analysed until the next time the person who has made them speaks.
On this occasion, it was only two days. But with no Europe and no EFL Cup, now the gaps are going to be much longer and there will be far more time to dissect what Amorim has said.
So, will tomorrow’s game against Burnley end up as a day where he wants to quit, one where he hates his players? Or will it be one where he wants to stay for 20 years, one where he loves his players?
Amorim knows some people want him to pull back with his outbursts. But he can’t.
With a team as erratic as Manchester United are just now, that could make for some very watchable media briefings.
Hojlund talks continue, Elche keen on Malacia
After confirmation United had accepted a £40m offer from Chelsea for wantaway winger Alejandro Garnacho, the future of other exiled players with the Old Trafford club continues to be debated.
United are continuing to talk with Napoli over a loan deal for striker Rasmus Hojlund.
In addition, Spanish club Elche have made contact over taking another member of Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’, Tyrell Malacia, to La Liga before the transfer window closes on Monday.
Meanwhile, Serie A outfit Roma continue to try to secure the signing of Jadon Sancho, although coach Gian Piero Gasperini has said there is a limit to what his club will do and Sancho should look favourably on a chance to restart his career.
“He would be a huge boost for us, but we would be an enormous opportunity for him,” said Gasperini.
“I’m not sure if it can still happen, but we don’t have to pray for someone to come here.”