Ruben Amorim remains convinced he is the man to turn Manchester United around but knows there are “consequences” for poor form as he leads his misfiring, absentee-hit side to Real Sociedad.
Erik ten Hag’s successor has endured more downs than ups since taking over in November, with the Red Devils languishing 14th in the Premier League and exiting the FA Cup at home to Fulham on Sunday.
United will look to bounce back when they face Real Sociedad on Thursday, but they headed to Spain with just an 18-man squad and under increased pressure to progress through the Europa League.
The competition is now their only route to silverware, and realistically European qualification, and falling on the road to May’s Bilbao final could damage a rebuild that has started unconvincingly.
Amorim has even mentioned on a couple of occasions that United’s longer-term goals might ultimately be achieved by another manager, but he insists his self-confidence remains undimmed.
Asked ahead of the last-16 first-leg clash in Spain if he still has the belief that he can turn the club around, the head coach said: “Yes.
“What I mean is that we have to think of the club as a long project and not just solve things in this moment and if we win the Europa League we’ll be in an amazing position in the next years.
“Because the problems continue here, even with Champions League, so that’s what I want to say.
“I know you guys make accounts of my season so I’m just trying to show that I don’t care and I’m really confident on the big goal of this club. That’s all. I’m trying to show the big picture to our supporters.”
Pushed on whether he believes he can be the man to spark a turnaround, Amorim said: “That is clear.
“I know what to do, but sometimes it’s a lack of results and you have to win games, so I know the consequences when you don’t win games but I am really confident.
“Since day one… a little bit more frustrated (now) but I am still confident.”
It may not be Bilbao or bust for Amorim, but there is a sense it would be for United’s season given the way things are going on and off the field.
The Portuguese is without 11 first-team players in Spain, with Harry Maguire and Manuel Ugarte joining the injured hordes after picking up issues in the loss to Fulham.
“Small things,” Amorim said of the absent duo. “We are being careful because in this moment we cannot allow us to lose more players for a long time.
“So, we are taking care of them in Carrington and they cannot play in this game because it will be a greater risk.”
Maguire and Ugarte join Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez on the sidelines.
Luke Shaw, Jonny Evans and Mason Mount remain out and continue to do rehabilitation away from the group, as do goalkeepers Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton.
Toby Collyer is available after injury and Patrick Dorgu can play as his ban only relates to domestic fixtures, but the squad is light and the options off the bench sparse.
“We have a lot of experience,” Amorim said. “Matthijs (de Ligt) is a young player but he has a lot of experience.
“We are ready because the good thing to play in the Premier League is we are ready for everything.
“It’s a big challenge, we are going to face a very good team, really intense, with a lot of experienced, international players. But we are ready because we face that every weekend.”
Another absentee is 17-year-old striker Chido Obi, who has shown promising signs off the bench in recent weeks but was overlooked for United’s Europa League squad.
“It’s a different context,” Amorim explained, nodding to the fact his first-team involvement came after the UEFA deadline.
“In that moment Rasmus (Hojlund) and Josh (Zirkzee) were playing in the same position so you try to manage all the things, even the expectations of the kids.
“The context was completely different and we choose different players.”
