Manchester United told biggest problem that Ruben Amorim might not be able to fix
Ex-Manchester United defender Wes Brown believes the club's current players are intimidated by the pressure of playing at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim's team have played well in notable fixtures away at Liverpool and Arsenal in recent weeks, having earned a positive draw at Anfield before beating the Gunners on penalties in the FA Cup. In contrast, the Reds' have struggled at home, having lost 3-1 at home to Brighton in their most recent Premier League game at M16 after an unconvincing win against relegation strugglers Southampton.
United have suffered six defeats at home in the league so far in 2024/2025 which has played a major role in their disappointing season. Amorim succeeded Erik ten Hag in November, but the Reds are yet to show any significant improvement under his management.
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And Brown has offered up his theory on what may be contributing to their struggles under the Portuguese. "Old Trafford seems to be a problem," he told Football365, via NewBettingSites.uk.
"We start games really badly and the pressure is definitely there. Maybe away from home, the players don't feel it quite as much. They also seem to go into games against the better teams away from home as the slight underdog and that means they don't have that pressure on them.
"That seems to help their performances, but the manager just hasn't been able to get that kind of reaction in the home games that we saw from the team in the City away game and with ten men at Arsenal. They really worked hard, put in a bit extra effort in those games, but he needs it every time."
On United's performances overall, he went on: "To be a Manchester United player, you have to perform to a high level and a lot of them haven't done that this season.
"It's been more than a few of them that have fallen below the standards and I think that is down to a few things. You can look at confidence, or you can look at different factors, but the players have to put what they do on the training ground into matches and a lot of them haven’t been doing that consistently.
"Everyone can play badly and have a patch of bad form, but these players have to realise they still have a little bit of time to try and save this season. As the season edges towards a conclusion, the window they have to save the season gets smaller and smaller.
"At some point, this team have to take more responsibility. You can't just blame the manager all the time. At some point, players have to step up to the plate."
