Amorim admits he’s in danger of losing Man Utd job with Devils going BACKWARDS

RUBEN AMORIM knows that Manchester United’s fans are “tired” of the current state of their club.

And the new manager accepts he will be in danger of losing his job, like any other manager, if results do not improve.

Amorim has only been at Old Trafford a month but the 2-0 Boxing Day loss at Wolves was his fifth defeat in seven games, and he is now preparing for Monday’s tricky visit of in-form Newcastle.

United have already lost half of Amorim’s first 10 games – with predecessor Erik ten Hag losing just two of his final 10 at the helm.

The Dutchman did win just three of those matches compared to Amorim's four.

But the Red Devils have scored less with their new boss too, netting just 17 goals in that time compared to 18 strikes under Ten Hag.

United have also shipped 17 goals under Amorim, with Ten Hag keeping a meaner defence with just 11 conceded.

Amorim, whose former Sporting Lisbon side netted 19 times in his final five games there, is contracted until the summer of 2027 and has maintained that is long enough time for him to be judged.

But Amorim knows he might not get that long if he is unable to dig the club out of this terrible mess, with the 39-year-old realising that the huge turnaround which is needed has to start soon.

United paid Amorim’s £8.3million buy-out clause to get him out of Sporting Lisbon although in recent weeks, the team has got worse.

Amorim said: “The manager of Manchester United can never, no matter what, be comfortable.

“They paid the buy-out clause to get me. I know that if you don't win, every manager is in danger and I like that because that is the job.

“You can argue that I have been here one month and I’ve had only a few training sessions but we are not winning. That is the reality and I'm quite comfortable with that.

“We have to fight against everything because our supporters are always there, but they are tired of this moment. It’s part of football to have these difficult moments. I already knew that it was going to be tough.

“You expect to win more games, to have players with more confidence to sell the idea and to work and improve things. At this moment it's really hard.  We have to survive to have time and then to improve the team.”

This is currently the worst United team in a lifetime. After the loss against Wolves, Amorim admitted that the side had to “survive” in the Premier League as they are now 14th, eight points off the relegation zone.

Another worry is that United are struggling to defend corners and free-kicks. They have conceded 10 goals from set-pieces this term with five of them coming under Amorim.

United keeper Andre Onana conceded a goal from Matheus Cunha’s corner at Wolves with Amorim’s team making the same mistake at Spurs seven days earlier.

The fact Wolves had practised trying to score directly from corners during the week shows there is an issue. Against Wolves, Onana was not protected by any defenders.

Amorim said: “Set pieces are becoming so important. We have to learn, even with the small guys.”

United’s new coach was also asked whether United’s fans can play a part against Newcastle by ramping up the atmosphere.

He said: “I would not dare to ask anything of our fans. They give us everything: a full stadium, they’re always supporting, clapping loss after loss. I just want to give something to the fans, not ask something of them.”

But Amorim also conceded that the mood at Old Trafford could be tense when Newcastle attack.

He said: “We have to expect that any play from Newcastle near our box is going to make the stadium nervous and our players have to cope with that.

“So, it's a very strong team, very fast with a lot of pace, with a lot of time working with the same coach, and we want to be competitive and try to win the game, that's all.”

United will be without skipper Bruno Fernandes after his sending off against Wolves due to a ban.

Asked if former skipper Harry Maguire could be reinstated, Amorim said: “He will have to wait until the game.

“He works really well. He's focused on the job, not what people say. Harry does not make excuses, even if he had some tough moments.

“I think in that department he is an example, so he is there to play to help the team. He's trying to do that.”