Manchester United 1-3 Brighton: Ruben Amorim says this is ‘maybe the worst team in Man Utd history’

Amorim had a lengthy chat with Sir Alex Ferguson before the game.

Ferguson was coming off the pitch after taking part in the pre-match tribute to legendary striker Denis Law, who died on Friday.

Referee Peter Bankes had to wait for Ferguson to finish before he could start the game. Amorim told BBC Radio 5 Live afterwards Ferguson had told him to “keep positive”.

On some days that is much easier than others.

As the losses stack up – United’s only recent Old Trafford success came against bottom club Southampton on Thursday, and even then they had been trailing until Amad Diallo’s late hat-trick – more and more questions are being raised about whether they are on the right path.

Amorim says he is not “naive” and understands the pressure he is under.

The former Sporting boss is adamant he will not change his 3-4-3 formation which brought him such success in Portugal but he admits United’s players are struggling to adapt.

“I knew that was going to be hard to put a completely new idea in the moment, but when you lose games and don’t win three games in a row it becomes really hard,” he said.

“Everybody here is underperforming and we have to accept that. It is unacceptable to lose so many games. The opponents are better than us in many details.

“We cannot be consistent and I’m not helping my players in the moment. You have to acknowledge we are in a very difficult situation, with all the bad records, as losing games at home, losing games in the Premier League.

“I know we can succeed but I am not naive. We need to survive this moment. But I am not going to change, no matter what.”