Amorim jokes Ratcliffe offered him a new contract in normal talks with co-owner

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has played down the significance of a meeting with co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe at the club's training ground this week, insisting their talks were "normal".

Ratcliffe was at Carrington to meet with the under-pressure head coach ahead of Sunday's game against Chelsea, live on Sky Sports, with Amorim joking that he was there to offer him a new deal.

"New contract, he was offering me a new contract," Amorim said in his press conference when asked about Ratcliffe's visit.

"No, it's normal things, just to show the support, explaining that it's a long project. He said many times, 'This is my third season.' For me, it's not. But normal things.

"I spoke with him, with [CEO] Omar [Berrrada], with [director of football] Jason [Wilcox], just trying to see all the data around the team.

"So, a normal meeting, and we had several, but in this moment, it's normal that people pay attention to that."

Amorim is under pressure having only won one of Manchester United's first four games of the season and also been knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the second round by Grimsby Town.

"This is football and this is the club with more pressure, maybe, than any in the world, but we want to win."

Last weekend's 3-0 loss to rivals Manchester City left Amorim's side 14th in the Premier League table, only one place above last season's club-record low finishing position.

The 40-year-old insists he sees improvement in their performances but admits they need to improve at both ends of the pitch.

"Last year I was very critical of the way we played," Amorim added. "I think we are playing well until the boxes, defending and attacking.

"We need to be more aggressive in the boxes. We need to be more clinical. The rest I think we are improving compared to last year. We are in a better place.

"But we need to win. We lost against Arsenal and Man City. Here, losing, especially in the beginning after last season, is a problem."

Amorim has had a free week with his players to prepare for Sunday's game against Chelsea at Old Trafford on the training pitch and says they have focused their efforts on being more effective in the boxes.

"We used the time to analyse the last game and the next game, and to prepare different things," he said. "We are playing well until we reach the boxes.

"We need to be more clinical. The number of shots and the xG are good, but if you don't score, it doesn't matter.

"The way we suffered the goals, we can avoid that. We are being naive, we need to be more aggressive in order to win games.

"We have to maintain the way we're playing and improving in our box and the opposition's box - that was the focus of the week. Especially against Chelsea, when they cross, they are the side with the most players in the box."

The Manchester United boss confirmed he will be able to call on Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount against Chelsea but Lisandro Martinez and Diogo Dalot are unavailable.