Manchester United lost the Europa League final to Tottenham, and Ruben Amorim fielded questions on his immediate Old Trafford future.
Ruben Amorim says he would walk away from Manchester United without compensation if the board and fans decided he was not the right man for the job, but has no plans to quit Old Trafford.
The Red Devils’ abysmal season hit a new low on Wednesday as United were beaten 1-0 by Tottenham in the Europa League final at San Mames.
Brennan Johnson’s scrappy goal shortly before the break settled a tetchy contest and is another nail in the coffin of a campaign that ends trophyless for United and now means no European football next season.
Moreover, United – who sit 16th with just one game to play in the Premier League – can only finish as high as 14th and are a whopping 27 points adrift of the Champions League places.
The Portuguese, who only joined United back in November, vowed that he will continue doing his utmost to turn things around, but said if the club’s hierarchy decides he is not the man to do so, he would not haggle over a severance payment.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Amorim said: “We have to see, in this moment, I am not going to be here defending myself, it’s not my style.
“I have nothing to show to the fans, and we say we are going to improve because of this. At this moment, it’s a little bit of faith.
“Like I said before coming here, I am always open. If the board and the fans feel I am not the right guy, I will go in the next days without any conversation about compensation, but I will not quit.
“Again, I am really confident on my job, I will not change nothing in the way I do things.”
United have now suffered their 20th defeat in all competitions this season, their most in a season since losing 22 in 1973-74, in a season they were relegated from the top-flight.
They were victorious in their first four major European finals between 1968 and 2008, but they have since finished runners-up in four of their last five.
In the game itself, they actually had 16 shots to Tottenham’s three, with six on target to Spurs’ one, but their expected goals (xG) of 0.9 was lower than Spurs’ 1.0.
“I think I was always really honest with you guys. We didn’t perform perfect today, [but] we were better than the opponent in the second half. We tried everything,” Amorim added.
“I think I’m really honest with you guys. I expect the same. There are some days I said we were really poor, but today was not the day.”
Defeat, of course, also means United will not earn the right to play in the Champions League next season.
Asked how that could affect the club’s plans in the upcoming transfer window, Amorim said: “We have two plans even for the market, and we need to understand it is tough for a club like ours not to be in the Champions League.
“But we have to use the other side, so if we have more time, then we have more time to think during the week and to do better in the Premier League. That will be our focus.”