RUBEN AMORIM has dismissed criticism from Manchester United greats Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney over his 3-4-2-1 system.
After United’s 3-1 defeat at Brentford, Rooney said he had “no faith” in Amorim while Neville described the decision to throw on Mason Mount on the left wing as “ridiculous”.
Neville also branded United’s form “unacceptable”.
Several other former United players have been scathing in their analysis of the team, who have lost three of their first six Premier League games.
“It’s normal,” Amorim said of the flak. “You cannot run away from the results. Then you have baggage from the last season. But for the last season, for me, it doesn’t matter.
“In relation to the system, we already spoke about that. We had six games this season and we lost three.
“Then we have to look to the games that we lost. We lost against Arsenal because of the system? It’s your job to make the opinion.
“When you look at the game against [Manchester] City, the first thing you think when the game starts is the system? I think you don’t think about the system in that moment.
“And Brentford, I don’t look. The way we concede goals, the way we create chances, if there is nothing to do with the system, that is my opinion.
“And I’m not saying that this team would play better in a different system or not. That is not my point. My point is, if I look at the games that we didn’t win, the most important thing when I watch the game is not that we lost because of the system.
“That is my opinion. Then people have different opinions. That’s okay.”
Amorim reiterated United have made progress with their performances, as opposed to last season.
However, the Portuguese tactician has overseen only nine wins from 33 Premier League matches in charge since he was appointed by United last November.
“Again, I can look at the games this year,” Amorim added. “For me, they are completely different.
“There are some things that are the same. And that is nothing about the position on the pitch, the way we put the ball. It’s other things that we cannot change. We show that thing in certain games.
“In the other games, we are not the same team in some details. So, I have nothing to say in this moment. My job is to prepare the team, and let’s go for the next game.
“It was [disjointed against Brentford]. But again, you cannot say one thing doesn’t work when it works on one weekend, and the other weekend doesn’t work.
Man Utd tribute
“When one thing doesn’t work, it doesn’t work every day. But when things work one day, and the other day doesn’t work, and the other day works really well again, it’s something about the way we do the same thing. So, we need to do the same thing in the same way every day.
“And we are not doing that, that is my opinion. Some of you guys have different opinions, but that’s okay.”
United will wear black armbands and hold a minute’s silence at Old Trafford against Sunderland after the attack on a Manchester synagogue on Thursday.
Two people were killed by Jihad Al-Shamie, who was named as responsible for the attack by police on Thursday evening.
Amorim expressed his sympathies to those affected by the atrocity: “Crazy world that we are living in the moment.
“A lot of these things are happening. Of course, our sympathy for the victims, and we will pay tribute tomorrow. But it’s a crazy world in this moment.”
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