Ruben Amorim has made it clear he has no plans to quit Manchester United but stood by his fiercely critical comments about his side.
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Coach clarified 'make space for different people' remarkHe explained why he is paying for staff to attend finalBoss backs United to beat Tottenham in BilbaoFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The manager was hugely disappointed with his side's performance in the 2-0 defeat by West Ham on Sunday, which saw United fall to 16th in the Premier League. After the game he hinted he might have to walk away from the job if things did not improve next season, saying: "It's not the players' fault. It's my fault, I'm responsible. If we cannot change that really fast, we should give our place to different persons." But he clarified his comments when speaking ahead of next week's Europa League final against Tottenham.
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Amorim said: "What I am saying is that since I arrived here, I am always talking about the standards and I cannot see the team having the results in the Premier League and not take responsibility. I am far from quitting. What I am saying is we need to perform or else they will change us. That is a normal thing."
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The United boss also confirmed that he is paying for his backroom staff and their families to go to Bilbao for the Europa League final and explained that the players backed the move. He explained: "We have a lot of things, people leaving, a lot of changes in the staff, sometimes it is hard [to know] when to give, when to take, to respect the people we are taking their jobs to survive and rebuild. It is complicated for the club to start giving to other members of staff so it is a really hard position. That was explained so in that moment, my reaction was to help. It is not going to change my life. Then we talked to the players and they had the same reaction, everyone does, they want the staff and their families there in the final."
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Amorim explained that accessing the Champions League via winning the Europa League was more important than lifting the trophy itself. He said: "Personally for me I think Champions League is more important for everything – to prepare the next season. We are supposed to be in the Champions League. Europa League here is not enough and you have that feeling here. The best way to help us get in the top in a few years is the Champions League – it’s not the cup. So for me the Champions League is more important."