Amorim laments Man Utd's 'lack of urgency'
Ruben Amorim believes Manchester United's 2-0 defeat to West Ham at Old Trafford on Monday came down to a "lack of urgency".
Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen scored on either side of half-time to complete the Hammers' first Premier League win since February, ending an eight-match winless run.
Soucek flicked in Mohammed Kudus' low centre in the 26th minute while Bowen similarly turned in former United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka's pass in the 57th.
United created plenty of chances, particularly in the second half, where Rasmus Hojlund saw several opportunities go begging, with wastefulness in front of goal proving costly for the hosts.
The defeat was United's ninth at Old Trafford in the Premier League this season, their joint-most at home in a single league campaign along with 1930-1931, 1933-1934, and 1962-1963.
"I think it's quite similar to some games that we've had, especially at the end of this season," Amorim said. "We have more chances than the opponent, and then we suffer two goals that we can avoid.
"There's a lack of urgency when we're defending our box. There's a lack of urgency when we are near the box.
"We need to be more aggressive, and we need to feel that it is the end of the world when we are not winning a game. Especially when we are not winning.
"So it's a big problem that we have here at the club. It's a decisive moment in the history of the club."
Indeed, United is in a poor run of form in the Premier League, having now gone winless in its last seven matches (two draws, five losses) – their joint-longest ever run in the competition (also seven from September to November 1992).
Despite the Red Devils' recent results, though, Amorim insisted that his side do not fear losing games.
"We are not scared of losing a game as Manchester United. We don't have that fear anymore, and that is the most dangerous thing that a big club can have," he said.
The Portuguese also took responsibility for the team's performances, adding: "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.
"Everybody is focused on the [Europa League final]. The final is not the biggest thing in our football club.
"We need to change a lot of things. If we don't change the way we play and perform, and feel this urgency of winning every game, we should not play in the Champions League.
"Then we should just stay in the Premier League and learn how to be competitive one week at a time."
United faces Chelsea in the Premier League next before an all-English showdown in the Europa League final against Tottenham on 21 May.
Graham Potter, meanwhile, was pleased to have snapped his side's run of eight matches without a win.
"Sometimes we talk about performances a lot as coaches, but results are nice. We've been in the middle of a really tough run, and [Sunday] was great in that regard," Potter said. "The players executed things really well. Good intelligence. They showed all the things they needed to win a football match. A great day for everyone involved with West Ham.
"You can talk tactics, but it's about desire and application and sticking together. The player's attitude and commitment to what we're trying to do has been first class.
"We have the capacity. We just have to keep working."
The win was only West Ham's second away win under Potter and it first at Old Trafford since 2006-2007, ending a run of 16 league trips there without a win.
