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Ruben Amorim says Manchester United’s lackluster performance against Southampton will teach him more about his players after positive results against Liverpool and Arsenal.
The Red Devils ended a four-game losing streak in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League earlier this month, knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup on penalties on Sunday.
United also beat Manchester City in December but then suffered losses against Tottenham, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Wolves.
And Amorim says he is looking for an improvement in performances against lesser sides, where they are expected to dominate the ball rather than in big games.
The Portuguese boss said: “This next game will teach me more from my players than the last two, so I’m really focused on seeing what kind of game we’re going to play tomorrow so I’ll learn more tomorrow.”
Asked why he would learn more, he replied: “Because there is no expectation for us in the last two games.
“No one thought we could do well or win a game but now they are expecting us to win and play well so I will learn more in this game.”
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 15, 2025
Asked if he was worried about facing Saints, he said: “I’m always worried because we don’t have consistency in these games in terms of performances or results so I’m always worried – it’s my job to worry.
“We have to face Southampton the same way we faced Liverpool and Arsenal – understanding they are different games.
“People expect us to win and that changes things. When you have pressure to win that’s the pressure we want and sometimes it’s hard to deal with that pressure because against Arsenal and Liverpool nobody expected us to do that. We beat those teams but it’s different now.
“We have to be ready for that pressure, we need that pressure to improve as a team and we need to tackle the game properly.”
Amorim doesn’t feel pressured
Amorim has endured a poor tenure so far since replacing Erik ten Hague, with the club currently 14th in the Premier League but insists he is not feeling the pressure at Old Trafford.
He added: “Of course you feel the pressure from the club but at the moment, I don’t feel that pressure.
“We haven’t won the league in the last years. Here in the past, if you didn’t win the league one year you had to win it the next year. I don’t feel that pressure.
“We have to put that pressure on ourselves because the away fans are amazing. I don’t feel that pressure, I just want to win. To feel that pressure in the future we need to win – we need to win titles and we need to win games.
