Diogo Dalot has revealed the mood in the Manchester United squad in a statement where he also appeared to disagree with Rúben Amorim.
Diogo Dalot’s goal against West Ham United gave Manchester United the lead in the second half, but they couldn’t hold on to take all three points, despite facing one of the poorest sides in the Premier League.
Rúben Amorim’s side conceded in the 83rd minute and never looked like getting back into the game, although United didn’t look close to scoring a second after the first goal of the game, either.
In years gone by, United managers have struggled to turn the club around once they hit a poor run of form, and they have usually been dismissed earlier than many would have thought.
Louis Van Gaal was sacked after winning the FA Cup final, not too dissimilar to his Dutch counterpart Erik ten Hag. Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjær both found themselves out of a job after two impressive years, due to an awful run in the third.
While it seems to be coming earlier for Amorim, he could be set to fall to the same fate as his predecessors.
Dalot reveals poor mood at United
United’s shocking result against West Ham represented the results of previous managers when they hit the form they can’t turn around. Dalot’s words after the game only add to the pressure on Amorim, as the full-back revealed the mood in the first team camp.
“We are very disappointed,” said United’s No.2 to journalists after the game, as covered by MEN. “We cannot concede a goal, we have to control more the game. We should have done the same as we did for 60 minutes, and try to score the second. We had the game there.”
When asked about what the players said after the game, Dalot appeared to disagree with Amorim’s substitution choices. He said: “Just that feeling – we cannot drop the intentions that we had to score a goal, to go out for the second one, to control even more with the ball.
“And when we lose the ball, be in a good position so we don’t suffer counter-attacks. Because we knew that today was going to be, for West Ham, the only way of creating danger was going to be second balls, transitions or set plays.”
It seems Dalot would have preferred fewer defensive changes from the United manager, so they could fight for another goal, rather than sit back and defend. In the 77th minute, Manuel Ugarte replaced Matheus Cunha, with Bruno Fernandes pushing into the front three.
Amorim could have brought Kobbie Mainoo or Shea Lacey on instead, but he chose to change two defensive-minded central midfielders. After United had conceded, the decision looked even more foolish than many first thought.
Dalot speaks on inconsistency
United’s struggle for consistency has been prevalent for Amorim’s full tenure at Old Trafford, and the issue still remains. After the West Ham game, Dalot went on to say: “First of all, I don’t think they [West Ham] are at that [poor] level. Obviously, they have a lower block and you saw how hard it is to get in during 60 minutes.
“But as soon as we found a way to score a goal, we need to keep doing the same things because that’s what put us in the position to control the game. I think we are dominant even though we conceded one or two transitions that we could have avoided.
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“But in the end, they score a goal, it’s not so hard to create chances and put the ball in the net. But then, with 30 minutes to go, we need to fight for the result.”
He continued to say: “It’s always like this [needing to put together a run of decent results]. Even after winning three or four games in a row, people will expect you to win five or six or seven.
“So, we just have to focus on one game, one win at the time. Today, we had a good chance to get closer to the top positions and I think that’s what hurts even more.”
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