Amorim: United players are ‘afraid on the pitch’

Ruben Amorim has admitted Manchester United‘s poor form has left his players “afraid on the pitch” ahead of their daunting trip to Liverpool on Sunday.

United have lost their last four games — including three Premier League defeats in a row — without scoring a goal.

And as Amorim prepares to take his team to league leaders Liverpool, he said the miserable run is causing “anxiety” within his squad.

“They [the players] are anxious, and sometimes afraid on the pitch,” Amorim said.

“We have to cope with that. We need the leaders to step up to help the other guys and I’m the most responsible person here to improve the performances.

“You can see the players are trying, sometimes too anxious, too afraid to play football because this is a difficult moment and we will help the players to be better.”

Amorim has lost six of his 11 games in charge since taking over from Erik ten Hag in November. It has left United just four places and seven points above the relegation zone, prompting the manager to admit after the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle that they are in a relegation battle.

The 39-year-old’s task is not getting any easier with the trip to Anfield followed by an FA Cup third-round tie against Arsenal at the Emirates.

Amorim said it has been “hard to cope” with the problems he has faced at Old Trafford, but still backed himself to turn things around.

“You can see in my face, you can compare it to when I arrive and now,” Amorim joked when asked about the pressure of managing United.

“Of course there is a lot of pressure. For me, it’s more the pride and also the performance. It’s harder when we don’t perform well.

“When I arrived I explained everything before, even when you guys were talking after Everton about the top four, I explained I was expecting this but it’s hard to cope with all the problems and the bad performances and the losses. It’s really hard.

“The only thing that can help me is training with the players. And I also have my family now here so it’s so different and that can help me a lot.”