Ruben Amorim says there is a level of entitlement at Manchester United as he defended his comments about the club's academy last week.
Last week, when quizzed on not using academy graduate Kobbie Mainoo, Amorim used Harry Amass and Chido Obi as examples, suggesting they were not at the level required for United at the moment.
Both players then posted pictures on their Instagram accounts seemingly in response to Amorim's comments. Amass posted a picture of him with a Player of the Month award at Sheffield Wednesday, while Chido's image was of him celebrating scoring for the U21 side.
When asked about Amass and Obi, Amorim defended his "strong words", suggesting the young players at the club feel "entitled" and the culture needs to change.
"I think it's the feeling of entitlement that we have in our club," Amorim said in his press conference ahead of Man Utd's trip to Aston Villa, live on Sky Sports on Sunday.
"Sometimes strong words are not bad words, sometimes difficult moments is not a bad thing for kids. We don't need to always be accolades in everything, every situation.
"You guys talk about players who speak against clubs because they feel entitlement, then you have legends say if you don't play, leave because everyone is wrong. No, let's stay and fight, let's overcome and maybe the manager is wrong. I have the feeling we need to fight against this feeling.
"I'm the first one to say I'm failing inside the pitch", he added. "I have that feeling. We are not performing the way we should be but outside the pitch I guarantee I'm not failing this club.
"We talk about the players sometimes forget what it means to play for Man Utd, we as a club forget sometimes who we are. That's the feeling that I have.
"It's the environment, the kids feel entitled and free to respond to the manager with a picture. My office is open but nobody is coming to me. That's the way we can solve things.
"We need to change as a club.
"I didn't say anything wrong, I spoke about how the luck of playing for Man Utd. Sometimes you play for Man Utd and see different realities and you understand football can be so different and you are really lucky to be at Man Utd. That was my point but let's move on."
More to follow...