Ruben Amorim acknowledged he "said things I shouldn't say" after describing his Manchester United side as "maybe" the worst team in the club's history.

The Red Devils boss made the observation during his press conference following his side's 3-1 defeat by Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday.

It was Man Utd's sixth loss in 11 Premier League games since he took charge in November, leaving them 13th in the table.

Amorim conceded his comments were made in the heat of the moment, but insisted there are significant issues that need to be resolved.

"I was talking more for myself than for my players," he told reporters during his press conference ahead of Man Utd's Europa League clash with Rangers. "But sometimes, it is really hard to hide my frustration in that moment.

"The good thing is I said the same things in a different way in the dressing room five minutes before. The response was quite normal because I'm really blunt with my players.

"Normally, I don't talk [to the players] after a game. After this game, I needed to talk. Maybe, it was a mistake because then I got more nervous, went to the press conference really nervous, and said things I shouldn't say.

"At this moment, we are performing really badly, and our results are really bad. I'm saying the obvious. If you want, I can be delusional and say different things. But I say it as I saw it.

"I think it is a good thing to be really honest. You saw one thing, I saw one thing. If you are in the stadium, you can understand it, so let's face it and work on it."

The Red Devils welcome Rangers hoping to enjoy a rare success at Old Trafford, where they have lost four of their last five league games, and Harry Maguire called for focus as he and his team-mates look to redress the balance.

"If I could explain it, we'd change it straight away," the defender said. "We have players who have won lots of trophies in club football, but we are not playing well enough as a team.

"We gave Brighton a goal. We had spoken about it pre-match. The first goal [conceded] against Nottingham Forest was a set-play – and against Bournemouth.

"These aren't things that are tactically a problem. You have to be mentally ready to win a match. At the moment, we are not getting the small margins because we are not mentally focused."