EPL: Amorim plays down ‘crisis talks’ with Ratcliffe

Manchester United boss, Ruben Amorim, has dismissed reports that his midweek meeting with co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was a crisis talk, insisting it was simply routine.

United are reeling from a woeful start to the new season, just four points from four Premier League matches and a humiliating League Cup exit to fourth-tier Grimsby.

Amorim, who has won only eight of 31 league games since arriving in November, said Ratcliffe offered reassurances about the club’s long-term project.

“A new contract,” Amorim joked when asked what the meeting was about, before clarifying: “No, it is normal things, just to show the support and explaining that it is a long project.”

The Portuguese coach has come under pressure after United’s 15th-place finish last season — their worst since 1974 — and their failure to secure Champions League football, having lost the Europa League final to Tottenham.

Despite the bleak run, Amorim insists his team are improving.
“This is football at maybe the most pressured club in the world, but we want to win,” he said.

He added: “We are playing well until the boxes, defending and attacking, but we need to be more aggressive and clinical. Compared to last year, I think we are in a better place. But again, we need to win.”

United face Chelsea at Old Trafford on Saturday, with Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha both returning from injury