Ruben Amorim has insisted he was referring more to himself than his Manchester United players when he said his side were ‘arguably the worst’ Red Devils team in history following their 3-1 defeat to Brighton on Sunday.
The fallen giants were shambolic as the visitors claimed all three points courtesy of goals from Yankuba Minteh, Kaoura Mitoma and Georginio Rutter.
After the game, Amorim raised eyebrows with a brutal admission.
He said: “We are being the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United.
Ruben Amorim has insisted he was referring more to himself than his Manchester United players when he said his side were ‘arguably the worst’ Red Devils team in history following their 3-1 defeat to Brighton on Sunday
PA
“I know that you want headlines, but I’m saying that because we have to acknowledge that and to change that. Here you go, your headlines.”
United are next in action against Rangers on Thursday.
And Amorim, speaking at his pre-match press conference, has now provided an explanation for his comments by insisting he was referring to himself, rather than his players.
“First of all, I want to talk about that. I was talking more about myself than for my players. It’s more for me, talking more about me than the players,” he said.
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“You have to look at a coach that loses eight games in the first twelve.”
“If you look around when I speak, every time you push about the players not being good enough, I take the spotlight away from my players. I understand I gave you that headline but I get frustrated sometimes.
“Sometimes it’s really hard to hide the frustration in some moments.
“They’ve trained well and they’re ready for the next game.”
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Amorim was then asked if why he was taking responsiblity, rather than the players.
He responded by saying: “I’m not taking responsibility away from the players, what I’m saying is the message you guys show was that I’m putting on the players.
“In this moment, we are performing really bad and our results are really bad in the moment.
“It’s everything together, the players, the staff, and I’m the biggest responsible for the results.
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Ruben Amorim ripped into his Man Utd players after their 3-1 defeat to Brighton on Sunday
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“What I’m saying is that we have to improve in the details. We are too anxious, too anxious with the ball, too nervous.
“And then if you have a little inexperience in this game, when you fall in this context, it’s really hard to come up, especially if you’re a massive club.
“It is what it is. Was it the right time to say it? Probably not.
“I’m saying I’m really direct. At the moment we are playing really bad and the results are really bad in the moment.
Ruben Amorim will be hoping to guide Man Utd to victory over Rangers on Thursday night
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“Everything is bad, the players, the staff. I’m just saying I’m the most responsible, because I’m the coach and I have that responsibility.”
United last faced off against Rangers back in 2010.
Their first Champions League match that year ended goalless at Old Trafford, with the Red Devils then winning 1-0 at Ibrox courtesy of a late penalty from Wayne Rooney.