Ruben Amorim admitted in the aftermath of Manchester United's 3-1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion that his side have played as if they are the worst United team in the history of the club.
The Red Devils lost in embarrassing fashion against the Seagulls, with goalkeeper Andre Onana making a preposterous error to allow Brighton to score their third in the second half.
United are 13th in the Premier League with just 26 points after 22 matchweeks, and though relegation is highly unlikely, they are just 10 points above 18th-placed Ipswich Town.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Amorim was despondent about the state of the club, saying: "In 10 games in the Premier League, we won two. Imagine what this is for a fan of Manchester United. Imagine what this is for me. So we are getting a new coach that is losing more than the last coach.
"We are being the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United. I know that you want headlines, but I'm saying that because we have to acknowledge that and to change that. Here you go, your headlines."
The manager has lost six, drawn two and won just three of his 11 league games in charge, picking up the same amount of points that previous boss Erik ten Hag did in the nine matches he was charge this term.
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What is going wrong for Manchester United?
United managed to eliminate Arsenal from the FA Cup on January 12 and hold league leaders Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at Anfield on January 5, with both results sparking some optimism amongst fans.
However, the Red Devils were able to sit back and absorb pressure in both games, and while they should be praised for their defensive resilience in those fixtures, the true test of an elite team is how they cope when they are forced to attack.
Actively attacking opponents leaves bigger spaces for teams like Brighton and Newcastle United to exploit, and defenders like Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt have struggled to step up from the backline to shut these spaces down.
Additionally, United's potency in the final third is severely limited when traditional full-backs such as Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui are played as wing-backs.
Perhaps another glaring issue for Amorim is that his side seem unable to deal with teams that physically outmatch them, something that was on full display against Newcastle on December 12.
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Will it get worse for Amorim?
Manchester United's defeat at the hands of Brighton was their sixth Premier League loss at Old Trafford this season and was their most from their opening 12 home matches of a league season since 1893-94.
The club are also on track to record around 45 points, and that return would be their worst tally since 1978–79.
Amorim has insisted that he will not change his style and that the current objective for his team is to get through the rest of the current season and secure Premier League survival, telling reporters: "I am not going to change, no matter what. I know we can succeed but we need to survive this moment. I am not naive. We need to survive now.
"It's unacceptable to lose so many games for any Premier League club, imagine Manchester United. So it's a really hard moment but we have to continue, we have to continue, there is no other way. We need to suffer and continue.
"Our players are really nervous and anxious. When you go inside the last pitch you remember the last games here, if I feel it the players feel it a lot. The only way is to continue to do the same and to win games."
United are set to take on Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday before a potentially tricky match against Fulham on January 26, and it would not be surprising if they failed to win either fixture.
Lewis Nolan
