Man United head coach Ruben Amorim insists his players "are improving" amid sack reports at Old Trafford

Amorim has struggled to turn around Man United's fortunes since arriving as head coach in November, boasting a record of nine wins, three draws and nine defeats from his 21 games at the helm.

The Red Devils are through to the fifth round of the FA Cup and last-16 stage of the Europa League, but a disastrous Premier League campaign has left them down in 15th spot in the table.

Brentford's Thomas Frank has allegedly been identified as a potential replacement for Amorim, should Man United make another change, with a number of the club's players not believed to be sold on the Portuguese's 3-4-3 system.

However, Amorim has insisted that there are positive signs in training, and the 40-year-old is hopeful that will soon translate to strong performances in matches, starting with Saturday's clash against Everton.

Amorim insists Man United are making steps forward

"They are improving, creating relationships, even the sound of the training is different, but we have to use that in the game and we have to take that step, I feel in training we are bonding and understanding the way we want to play, but then in a game, we struggle a lot," Amorim told reporters during Friday's press conference.

"I just want to win games, that is the point. I teach what I know, that is clear with me. I stick to my beliefs and try to transmit that to the players. I try to adapt to the players that I have, but my focus is on winning games.

"The sound is like when you are training and you are making an exercise - you feel the sound. People are talking, asking for the ball, giving directions and talking with each other.

"You can feel it in the environment. If you spend your life as a player and a coach, even the sound of the training is important and I feel we are changing that.

"What I feel is sometimes we don't feel improvement in the team, but then you have some games that you think are more difficult and you feel we can play, we can create situations. That is a good thing, but I think in this moment you can see when you watch the games, you can see more problems than solutions."

Man United will face Real Sociedad in the last-16 stage of the Europa League

When quizzed on Man United being drawn against Real Sociedad in the last-16 stage of the Europa League, Amorim said: "I just want to win against Everton, I want to be clear on that. We have a lot of issues to solve. If I'm thinking about Real Sociedad and winning trophies, that's not the right way to do my job."

The Red Devils are currently preparing for back-to-back fixtures against Everton and Ipswich Town in the Premier League, before welcoming Fulham to Old Trafford in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

The 20-time English champions will then visit Real Sociedad for the first leg of their last-16 Europa League contest on March 6, three days before welcoming Arsenal to Old Trafford in the Premier League.

Written by

Matt Law