Ruben Amorim replied “I don’t know” when asked what was going wrong at Manchester United after a 2-2 draw at Everton on Saturday.
United were 2-0 down for much of the match after a poor first half – branded “unforgivable” by club legend Rio Ferdinand – saw the hosts forge ahead.
But late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte secured a point, though their late rally was almost in vain when Ashley Young won a penalty in the dying moments, before the decision was controversially overturned.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Amorim brushed off the idea that the penalty should have stood, but conceded it was a poor first half display from his side.
He said: “I think it’s a soft touch. It’s not from what I saw. I don’t like to talk, especially a few minutes after the game is finished, but I think it was a soft penalty, it was clear.
“If you start the game without the first half, losing 2-0, it’s a good point. But we need three points, and to play all the game.
“That is not the worst part. The worst part is that we have the free man, we are losing the ball without any pressure. We are not doing what we are supposed to do. Then it’s really hard.
“We suffered two goals in second balls, that was clear, they will create chances by second balls. We were soft.
“In training, we continue to do the same. That’s why in the second half we didn’t change anything, we have to do the same thing, but in a good way”
When asked why he has yet to enjoy an upturn in United’s Premier League form since his arrival, the Portuguese admitted he did not know the root cause of the club’s ever-growing problems.
He said:Â “I don’t know. If I knew, I would change it. We have to continue to think in the next game, everything we do in the week we have to use it in the game.
“If we do that, we are near to winning games like we did in the second half. In this moment we need to focus on day by day.
“We need to survive this season, and then to think ahead. We have so many problems, and then when we go to the game and let the time pass, it’s really hard.
“I don’t want to just say the negative part, the second half was so much better in the belief. In the end we were near to winning this game.”
United remain 15th in the Premier League table, a point behind Everton, who had been embroiled in a fight against the drop before the arrival of David Moyes as manager.
Fernandes: ‘We have to do much more’
United captain Fernandes has regularly hit out at the standards at the club after disappointing results, and was again clear that his side were not dynamic enough at Goodison Park.
He said: “We had our chances in the second half, but the problem is we started the game too late.
“We didn’t have enough movement, we were too static, and it was difficult to create our situations. We created some one-twos and stuff like that, but we need to start the game better.”
Like the manager, he was more satisfied with the second half, but echoed the idea that slipping behind early was a huge problem for the team.
He added: “Every time that we concede a goal is the only time we start, or think we can take a risk and go forward. We need to start the game like that because we are in a situation where we need to win games and create chances to score goals.”
Asked about what had been said at half-time to spark the second-half comeback, Fernandes replied: “To stick to the plan, that’s what the manager was very upset with us [about].