Manchester United players taking constant criticism ‘personally’

Ruben Amorim said on Tuesday that his Manchester United players are taking criticism “personally” and believes it’s hampering their ability to perform.

United are 15th in the Premier League table ahead of Ipswich Town’s visit to Old Trafford on Wednesday and on a run of just one win in their last four games.

The players were heavily criticised for their performance in the first half against Everton on Saturday before fighting back from two goals down to draw 2-2.

And Amorim admitted the scrutiny that comes with poor form is affecting his squad and suggested it’s contributing to negative results.

“They feel the pressure that they need to win at Manchester United and every time we lose and every time they don’t perform there are a lot of people on social media and in the newspaper they are putting on a lot of pressure,” said Amorim.

“Then they go to the pitch and try to fix things but not in a good way — thinking too much, not playing the way they’re supposed to play.

“The other people are talking about them all the time — all their friends, social media, former players — and they take it so personally and sometimes it’s really hard for them to turn things around.”

The mood around Old Trafford has darkened after an announcement on Monday that another 200 club staff are set to be made redundant. Amorim said that employees are paying the price for a lack of success on the pitch, but the Portuguese coach insists he hopes it’s not adding to the already pressurised environment at the club.

“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but the players don’t feel it too much, they have one life, they live in a bubble,” he said. “It’s completely different for them than it is for me, for everybody in the club.

“They are not feeling that pressure [connected to redundancies]. They don’t feel that pressure of people losing their job, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing — they are young kids that live in a different world — but they suffer a different pressure and sometimes it’s harder.”

Despite all the turmoil around the club, United have a plan to win the Premier League title by 2028. Amorim said it starts with getting recruitment decisions right after more than a decade of extravagant spending with little reward.

However, he added there’s no guarantee the plan will work.

“It’s easy for me to be here and say all the pretty stuff,” he said. “We have to improve recruitment, I think that is crucial, and we need to improve the team. We need to perform better and we need to be in Europe and not in our position this season.

“They are paying the price for our lack of success and I can’t say anything now that is going to convince the fans and all the staff that we’re going to do it.

“We have an idea but we need to be a better team and recruit better and not make a lot of mistakes in that department.”