Ruben Amorim admits to Rio Ferdinand he feels ’embarrassed’ by Man United’s dismal form – and reveals why he believes his team struggles so badly at Old Trafford

Ruben Amorim has admitted he feels ’embarrassed’ after a difficult start to his reign at Manchester United.

Amorim arrived from Sporting Lisbon in November as one of the most highly-rated head coaches in European football, but has won just five of his opening 16 league games in charge, losing eight.

United are on course for their worst-ever Premier League campaign and currently sit 14th in the table, but Amorim still has the majority of the fanbase behind him.

However, he has conceded that there have been very few positives to take from his first three months at Old Trafford.

In an interview with United icon Rio Ferdinand for TNT Sports, Amorim said: ‘I feel that (people believing in me). At the same time, I’m embarrassed by that because if you look at our performance and you see our team sometimes on the pitch, it’s really hard for me as a coach to take a lot of positives.’

Amorim insists he has seen good signs from his team in training, but that has not translated into performances on the pitch.

He has admitted to Rio Ferdinand that he feels ’embarrassed’ by his team’s results

Amorim feels United’s players feel ‘heavy’ when they play at Old Trafford and struggle with nerves

Playing at home has become a particular problem for United, as they have lost five times at Old Trafford under Amorim.

The Portuguese boss is fully aware of the issues his side are having with performing at Old Trafford, but does not feel it is down to a lack of talent.

Instead, he is convinced nerves are getting the better of his players, and he can even sense problems on the horizon before a ball is kicked. 

‘I think we are so nervous sometimes in the game and you can feel it in the small things. The way that we move sometimes, the understanding of the game, especially at Old Trafford,’ he continued.

‘I feel that sometimes the players are in the dressing room and we go to warm-up and we go inside to start the game, I feel that the air is heavy. These kind of things I think we show a lot in the games.’

Amorim has vowed to fight on at United, but feels his tactics can only push the team so far.

He has urged his side to keep believing in his methods and to stick with them through difficult periods to turn their season around.

‘The only way I know to help them is to give them to the solutions to play on the pitch, but they have to believe it,’ he said. 

‘And to believe it is when we are losing or in a difficult situation and you feel like you cannot even build up one play, they have to stick with that and to believe in that. That is the hardest part. 

‘Because when we suffer a goal or we have a bad moment, you feel like the connection is not there, we lose ourselves. We get lost a little bit. I understand it is more than football, more than tactics, it is something that is in the players’ mind.’