Ruben Amorim reveals who puts him under most pressure as Man Utd boss admits it's 'good to hear' Sir Jim Ratcliffe's public backing

While pundits such as Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney were fiercely critical of Amorim's management in the wake of the 3-1 defeat by Brentford last month and called on him to be removed from his post, Ratcliffe declared last week that he fully supported the coach. Speaking to The Business podcast by The Times, the billionaire admitted Amorim "has not had the best of seasons" but insisted that the Portuguese coach "needs to demonstrate he is a great coach over three years". The message of support came a week before United face arch rivals and Premier League champions Liverpool and Amorim said he appreciated it, even if he already knew that the club's big decision makers such as Ratcliffe, sporting director Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada were already behind him.

Amorim told a press conference on Friday: "He tells me all the time, sometimes with a message after games but you know I know and Jim knows that football is not like that. The most important thing in football is the next game. You cannot control the next day. But it is really good to hear that. But also because of the noise. Omar and Jason tell me that all the time. First of all I can feel it, it is not just that thing that people say, I feel it every day."

The coach then declared that he puts more pressure on himself than anyone at the club. And while he appreciated the support from the club hierarchy, he was keen to avoid the impression that he was not in a hurry to improve United's fortunes. "Sometimes the pressure I put on the team and myself is so much bigger. I know it is going to take a while," he said. 

"It is really good to hear that. I think it helps our fans to understand that leadership know it is going to take a while. But at the same time I don’t like that because I don’t want that feeling in our club that we have time to sort things out. We need to prove in football and at big clubs that every week we are ready to win games."

United have not won away to Liverpool in the last 10 seasons although they are unbeaten in their last two visits to Anfield. The Red Devils produced an impressive performance to draw 2-2 in January, with Harry Maguire missing a last-gasp chance to snatch victory. The display came amid a terrible run of results from United and prompted Amorim to declare he was "upset" that his side could not produce the same level of performance in other games.

Amorim said his team tend to perform against better opponents because the pressure is off but he also acknowledged that was not a sustainable way of approaching games. He said: "Maybe the expectations, when you have to win and the responsibility of winning it is so much harder. When you play in big clubs, you need to win every game. We have difficulties some times to play with that responsibility. Maybe when Manchester United are not expected to win, it is easier for the players to perform but we need to change that.

"I know it is special for our club. I know they are competing for a number of titles. It is one more game we need to prove again that we are playing better. We need to be better in both boxes. It's one more game that we need to win."

Liverpool are in their worst run of form under Arne Slot after losing their last three matches. However, they have not lost at Anfield in the league since September 2024. United, meanwhile, have not won a Premier League away match since beating Leicester in March.