'You can't do that!' – Ruben Amorim slammed over astonishing Manchester United comment

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Ruben Amorim has been slammed after describing his Manchester United team as ‘maybe the worst’ in the club’s 147-year history.

United suffered their fourth loss in five home Premier League games on Sunday as Brighton sealed a 3-1 victory to clinch their third win in a row at Old Trafford.

Manchester United are just 13th in the table – closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League places – having amassed 11 points in 11 games since Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag in November.

‘In [the past] 10 games in Premier League, we won two,’ Amorim said after the Brighton loss. ‘Imagine what this is for a fan of Manchester United. Imagine what this is for me.

‘We are getting a new coach who is losing more than the last coach. I have full knowledge of that.

‘We are the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United. I know you [media] want headlines but I am saying that because we have to acknowledge that and to change that. Here you go: your headlines.’

Only 13 Manchester United teams have had a lower points tally than the current side at this stage of the season.

But Amorim’s claim was a slight exaggeration as the club have been relegated from the English top-flight five times, most recently in 1974.

‘I knew that was going to be hard to put a completely new idea in the moment, but when you lose games and don’t win three games in a row it becomes really hard,’ Amorim added.

‘Everybody here is underperforming and we have to accept that. It is unacceptable to lose so many games. The opponents are better than us in many details.

‘We cannot be consistent and I’m not helping my players in the moment. You have to acknowledge we are in a very difficult situation, with all the bad records, as losing games at home, losing games in the Premier League.

‘I know we can succeed but I am not naive. We need to survive this moment. But I am not going to change, no matter what.’

Liverpool legend Steve Nicol was left ‘shaking his head’ at Amorim’s comments and insisted: ‘You can’t say that’.

‘I'm shaking my head,’ he told ESPN. ‘You can't say that. For him to come out and say that, you just can't do it.

‘I don't know what he thinks the reaction from the players is going to be after that. You just can't say it. Sometimes you just need to lie.’

Former MLS star Alejandro Moreno added: ‘It's not helpful. I'm not asking you to lie to me but the players will know they're not very good and know they're struggling.

‘They don't really need their manager to tell the world that. It doesn't fill me with loads of confidence if I'm a player in that dressing room.

‘I don't think the players needed to hear that. The one person who can't lose faith in the players is the manager. If he loses faith, then everything else falls apart.

‘You have to lie, you misrepresent the truth, you repackage the message and present a new reality.’

Manchester United return to action on Thursday night with a Europa League clash against Scottish club Rangers.

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