'I will try to improve' - Ruben Amorim names mistake he made after Manchester United defeat to Brighton

Ruben Amorim admits he ‘made a mistake’ with his rash reaction to Manchester United’s 3-1 defeat to Brighton in the Premier League last weekend. United fell to their fourth home defeat in their last five matches after a disappointing performance in which they defended poorly and made several individual errors.

Amorim does not usually hold a team meeting after matches and prefers to address his squad the day after a game to ensure he provides a more measured response to their latest performance. He broke that self-imposed role by confronting his players after the Brighton defeat, a decision he regrets.

Shortly after the game, the United head coach sensationally claimed this United side could ‘possibly be the worst in the club’s history’, though he insists it was a reflection of their poor record under him, rather than a criticism of his players.

Asked if he was looking to ‘shock’ the players by breaking tradition to address them after the Brighton loss, he said: “No, was not. I didn’t think that’s why. I’m a young guy and sometimes I make a mistake. And that’s why I don’t talk after the game. This game, I needed to talk and maybe it was a mistake and then I get more nervous and go to the conference really nervous and you say things I shouldn’t say, that’s it. Sometimes I’m a young guy and I make mistakes. I don’t promise you I won’t do it again but I will try to improve.”

When pushed on his sensational comments from the weekend, Amorim reiterated that he regretted the timing of his comments and that it would take improvement from everyone to address their alarming run of form. He added: “I’m not taking responsibility for the players. What I’m saying is that the message you guys show is I was putting it on the players. What I was saying is you have to look really hard for a Manchester United team that has lost seven out of ten games and that is on me. Because it’s the same players doing worse with a new coach, that is my only concern in the moment.

“I am not taking anything from the players, what I’m saying is we have to improve in the details, I explain that. The way we play, we are too nervous with the ball, too nervous, really anxious and then if you have limited experience in this game, when you follow in this type of context, it’s really hard to go up especially in a massive club. That was my only point. It was the best point to do it after that loss? Maybe not, it is what it is, I’m like that all the time. I'm not taking responsibility from the players, I am saying, I am really, really direct in things, I’m saying in this moment we are performing really bad and our results are really bad in the moment. It is everything together, the players, the staff, the technical staff, so I am not taking responsibility. I’m just pointing out that I am the biggest responsible for the performance and the results because I am the coach and I have that responsibility.”