Ruben Amorim has warned that Manchester United will have ‘no excuses’ if they don’t win at Crystal Palace on Sunday despite their poor away form and recent record at Selhurst Park.
United have won just once away from Old Trafford in the last 11 attempts – including recent draws at Nottingham Forest and Tottenham – and are without a victory in five visits to Palace.
But Oliver Glasner’s side are back in action just three days after he fielded a strong line-up in Thursday’s Europa League defeat to Strasbourg, and Amorim is demanding that United rebound from Monday’s defeat to 10-man Everton.
The United boss, who had to contend with a long run to the Europa League final last season, said: ‘In our club it’s the same thing because last year we had to win every game all the time. And we took a lot of things, a lot of criticism because we were not winning. So in our club there are no excuses.
‘I already talked about Europe and I said the same thing last year when we were in Europe. I said the same thing this year. The advantage and the disadvantage of not being in Europe, so there are no excuses. Last year or this year, we have always to win games.’
On United’s poor away form, Amorim added: ‘I felt during this year that when we played at home, the intensity was higher. And I felt in this game at home (against Everton) the intensity was not at the same level. So I think it’s something that we need to work on.
Ruben Amorim has told his players that there will be no excuses if Manchester United cannot improve their record on the road
The Red Devils will travel to face Crystal Palace after a lacklustre home defeat to Everton
‘It’s hard to point one thing why we are not winning away. There’s a lot of issues. We are improving but we need to know how to finish the games in order to win.’
Amorim was asked why Glasner has enjoyed more success than him in implementing a back-three system at Palace after the Austrian lifted the FA Cup last season and guided Palace to fifth place in the Premier League this term.
‘We play a different way,’ he countered. ‘You can understand that by the data. But it’s hard to explain everything. Like you said, it’s a different club and they are doing things better than us, so that is quite simple.
‘You don’t say that all 4-3-3 teams play in the same way, right? We play in a different moment, we defend in a different space, we try to attack in a different way. They are just doing things better than us.
‘I play against him (Glasner) at Frankfurt with Sporting so I know the players. I take inspiration from everyone. I have six years as a professional manager so I’m always trying to learn to improve my team.’
