Ruben Amorim facing more scrutiny after Premier League defeat at Brentford

Winning two in a row used to mean something different at Manchester United.

They went to Brentford in search of their first back-to-back league wins under Ruben Amorim, which tells you all you need to know about the team's progress after 33 games in the competition for the head coach.

He described the game as the club's "most important in a long time" but his players failed to translate that urgency onto the pitch as they suffered a deflating 3-1 defeat.

Victory over 10-man Chelsea last week failed to inspire the consistency that will ultimately keep Amorim in a job and they have sunk back into the bottom half of the table. So where does Amorim go from here?

Amorim stubborn despite glaring issues

It was once again so obvious that United's set-up was a massive issue at Brentford.

Forget criticism of playing three at the back, others have shown it is no impediment to success. It is Amorim's insistence on leaving his two-man midfield pivot exposed that comes back to bite him time and again.

Brentford changed from a back five to a back four against Amorim's three-at-the-back system, while keeping a midfield three of Jordan Henderson, Yehor Yarmoliuk and Mikkel Damsgaard.

Not for the first time this season, United's midfield pivot of Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte were overrun by Brentford, who richly deserved the three points.

Amorim did not seem to want to acknowledge those issues after the game. "It's always the same, when we win it's not the system, when we lose it's the system," he said.

So far, we've yet to see Amorim's United dominate a top team in the Premier League that has a full accompaniment of players. After Casemiro's red card last week, Chelsea made United sweat for the win.

Brentford boss Keith Andrews, who was in charge of set pieces in the club's set-up under Thomas Frank last season, explained after the game how his side overloaded United's midfield.

"It's the natural way you prepare for games," said Andrews, when asked if he targeted United's midfield. "You try and create overloads.

"One of which would be if we have a three-man midfield, they have a two. But you could flip it and say 'if their wide players tuck in, then they have a four'. But I certainly felt how we tried to entice them onto us and try and play around, or through [them], at times, would be on."

Andrews, in his first season as a senior head coach, demonstrated the value in adaptability on Saturday, while Amorim finished the game with Mbeumo and Mason Mount as his wing-backs.

How long can this go on?

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville warned after the Manchester derby that being in the bottom half come October could spell trouble for Amorim.

Defeat at Brentford means that is exactly where United will start the month after finishing last season 15th in the table.

"There's got to be a turnaround pretty quickly, and the manager's idea has got to land very quickly with the players," the former United captain said at the time.

United's decision-makers are behind Amorim, but another defeat when Sunderland go to Old Trafford next week would ramp up the pressure on the head coach over the international break.

However, Amorim, who has reportedly offered his job up on more than one occasion, says fears about potentially being sacked do not enter his mind.

"I'm always comfortable with the job," Amorim told BBC Sport. "I've proved that already. I'm not concerned, that is not my decision. I will do the best I can in every minute that I'm here. I'm never concerned for my job, I'm not that kind of guy."

Amorim got a message of backing after the Manchester derby defeat. You wonder how many more set-backs he can survive before patience runs thin.

Results are the only thing that can save Amorim and he knows that. His record in the league stands at nine victories in 33 games. That is a win percentage of 27.3 per cent, lower than any other to succeed Ferguson by some distance.

Mental fragility exposed on the road

United have made a habit of starting games at a fast pace this season, certainly against Arsenal, Fulham, Burnley and Chelsea. Amorim wants his team to get off to a good start because he knows what happens when they don't.

Each league game this season in which United have conceded the first goal, they have lost.

The pressure cooker of Old Trafford has been too much for most players to sign for the club over the last decade and Amorim is trying to find a way to build confidence in the way his team plays.

He has enjoyed some success with this, at least in United's home games, but at Brentford, there was no sign of the electric start that overcame Chelsea. Without the crowd, the players struggle to cope.

This is reflected by their current eight-game winless run away from home in the league. The last one came in March at Leicester, who were relegated a month later.

Before that, it was at Fulham at the end of January. United were hardly convincing in that game either. Lisandro Martinez's deflected strike just got them over the line.

The mental fragility - and inability to cope without the support of Old Trafford - is a huge hindrance to Amorim's bid to bring consistency back to United.

"It's like ups and downs," said Amorim, when asked about this latest setback.

"When you win, you feel that everything and that the momentum is here. When you lose, you go back to the same place and fight again for the one win that can help you to create the momentum.

"I cannot tell you more than I say every time I lose the game. Sometimes you see one team that performs really well and you see improvements, and then sometimes you have some games that you don't see the improvement that gives you the confidence to say that Manchester United is going to get back.

"It's always the same conversation."

Amorim has been in the job for 10 months and is yet to win consecutive games in the league. Momentum feels extremely distant right now.