Ruben Amorim said that Manchester United's performance against lowly Southampton will teach him more about his players after the positive results against Liverpool and Arsenal.
The Red Devils ended a four-game losing streak with a 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League earlier this month, before knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup on penalties on Sunday.
United also beat Manchester City in December, but followed that up with defeats to Tottenham, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Wolverhampton.
Amorim says he is looking to improve against lower teams, where they are expected to dominate the ball, rather than in big matches.
The Portuguese coach said: “This next match will teach me more from my players than the last two matches, so I am really focused on seeing what kind of match we will play tomorrow, so I will learn more tomorrow.”
When asked why he learned more, he answered: “Because there is no expectation for us in the last two matches.
“No one thought we could perform well or win a match, but now they expect us to win and play well, so I will learn more in this match.”
– Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 15, 2025
Asked if he was worried about facing the Saints, he said: “I'm always worried because we haven't had consistency in these matches in performance or results, so I'm always worried – it's my job to be worried.”
“We have to face Southampton in the same way we faced Liverpool and Arsenal, and realize that they are two different matches.
“People expect us to win and that changes things. When you have pressure to win, that's the pressure we want and sometimes it's difficult to deal with that pressure because against Arsenal and Liverpool no one expected us to win against those two teams but it's different now.
He added: “We have to be prepared for this pressure, and we need this pressure to improve as a team, and we need to face the match in the right way.”
Amorim doesn't feel the pressure
Amorim has endured a turbulent spell so far since replacing Erik Ten Hag, with the club currently sitting 14th in the Premier League, but he insists he does not feel under pressure at Old Trafford.
He added: “Of course you feel the pressure that the club is under, but at this moment I do not feel this pressure.
“In recent years we haven't won the league. In the past here, if you didn't win the league one year, you had to win it the next year. I don't feel that pressure.
“We have to put that pressure on us because the fans outside the stadium are amazing. I don't feel that pressure, I just want to win. For us to feel that pressure in the future, we need to win, we need to win titles and we need to win games.
