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Rob Dawson, Correspondent
Ruben Amorim has accepted his job will be “in danger” for as long as Manchester United‘s poor run of form continues.
United lost their third straight game with a 2-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day.
Amorim has had little time to work with his players since taking over from Erik ten Hag in November. But despite the mitigating factors which have contributed to a run of five defeats in the last seven games, Amorim has said he does not feel safe at Old Trafford.
“The manager of Manchester United can never, no matter what, be comfortable,” Amorim said.
“I know that if we don’t win, regardless, if they pay the buyout [for me] or not, I know that every manager is in danger and I like that because that is the job, so I understand the question.
“You can argue that I have been here one month and I’ve had four training [sessions], but we are not winning. That is the reality and I’m quite comfortable with that.”
Part of the problem facing Amorim is trying to implement his 3-4-3 system midway through the season and without the benefit of working with his players during preseason.
The 39-year-old initially told United he would prefer to take over next summer rather than be parachuted into the role in November.
Asked whether that scenario would have given him a better chance of success, he said: “There’s no point talking about that or thinking about that. I’m here and have to focus on the job. It’s part of football to have these difficult moments. I already knew that was going to be tough.
“You expect to win more games, to have players with more confidence to sell the idea and to work and improve things.
“At this moment it’s really hard. We have to survive to have time and then to improve the team.”
United are facing a tough run of games as they look to bounce back from consecutive defeats to Tottenham, Bournemouth and Wolves.
Newcastle visit Old Trafford on Monday before a trip to league leaders Liverpool on Jan. 5 and an FA Cup tie against Arsenal a week later.
Newcastle have won their last four games having scored 14 goals and Amorim is expecting a “nervous” night against Eddie Howe’s team.
“We have to fight against everything because our supporters are always there, but they are tired of this moment,” he said.
“We have to expect that any play from Newcastle near our box is going to make the stadium nervous and our players have to cope with that. So it’s a very strong team, very fast with a lot of pace, with a lot of time working with the same coach, and we want to be competitive and try to win the game, that’s all.”