Ruben Amorim slates Manchester United players over what they did in Brighton defeat
Ruben Amorim scolded the Manchester United players for changing positions during their 3-1 home defeat to Brighton.
Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot switched flanks in the second half and then swapped again, while there appeared to be confusion between Amad and Antony after the latter came on in the final moments.
Amorim billed this as "the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United" after a tenth defeat in 22 Premier League games but he also laid down the law to any players who went rogue in his 3-4-3 formation.
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"I knew that was going to be hard to put a completely new idea in the moment," Amorim conceded. "But when you lose games and don’t win three games in a row it becomes really hard.
"So that’s why I’m telling we are going to suffer because I will continue to do the same. To help my players is to give them the tools to play in this way. But then without training is really hard, then without training and losing games [it's harder].
"You can feel it in the end of the game. Everybody was changing position and that is something I will not see again. We can lose but we have to maintain position."
Amorim is refusing to budge on the 3-4-3 formation that United players are still struggling to adjust to. United had one shot on target against Brighton - Bruno Fernandes's converted penalty - after Amorim dropped Rasmus Hojlund and recalled Joshua Zirkzee.
Zirkzee was replaced by Hojlund in the final minutes of the match as Amorim retained the system rather than switching to a two-pronged attack up front.
"If I want to show to the media or to the fans, I put two strikers," Amorim added, "but I didn’t put two strikers because if I do it’s going to be more difficult for them to understand the way we play.
"I am just here to help my players but we need to understand we are breaking all the bad records. It’s a proud thing we need to change."
United conceded in the first five minutes in the third home game out of the past five after Yankuba Minteh turned in Kaoru Mitoma's square pass. Mitoma ran onto a dinked ball by Carlos Baleba and Matthijs de Ligt inexplicably ran in the opposite direction to the ball.
"We need to be really focused on the game and sometimes I feel the team is focused on a lot of stuff," Amorim conceded. "Also because of the moment.
"But it’s a simple play. If there is one play Brighton does it is to push the centre back and the winger makes the movement. And we knew that before the game.
"I don’t want to point to that specifically, is everything. The only way is to work really hard, to win games, to have time for a new idea, to change things around."
