Ruben Amorim explains lacklustre Premier League record, it shows what he needs to change at Man Utd next season

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Manchester United’s dire Premier League campaign rumbled on again at the weekend, with West Ham becoming the latest club to come away from Old Trafford with three points.

After a euphoric Europa League semi-final against Athletic Club, Manchester United lost 2-0 to West Ham.

The result means United are sitting 16^th in the Premier League ahead of their Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur, who are 17^th, raising debate over Europe’s second-tier competition.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
15	West HamWest Ham	36	10	10	16	42	59	-17	40
16	Man UtdManchester United	36	10	9	17	42	53	-11	39
17	TottenhamTottenham	36	11	5	20	63	59	4	38

It has been clear that United have been prioritising the Europa League in recent weeks, especially in terms of team rotation and prioritising key players for other fixtures.

This shows a mentality shift at Old Trafford, but it’s similar to the situation Erik ten Hag’s team found themselves in last season, after winning the FA Cup against the odds, despite finishing eighth in the league.

Ruben Amorim quizzed about Manchester United’s contrasting Premier League and European form

There is no way to sugarcoat United’s domestic form in 2024/25.

It’s incredible to think that, not being able to win games consistently in the Premier League, Amorim is taking United to the final in Bilbao as the only unbeaten team left in the European League this season.

• READ: Europa League Final, date, time, channel, prize money and everything you need to know

United fans have travelled across the UK and Europe this season, regardless of results, but the overall form has been massively inconsistent.

After losing to West Ham on Sunday, Amorim was asked whether he is shocked, surprised, or saddened that he is not seeing the urgency he demands as a fundamental to playing high-level football.

“I think, of course, it’s a different competition but, in the Europa League, we don’t play quite well, but we have a little bit of that urgency, we cannot lose the games, we have to win it, we manage to find a way to win that game to take [us through],” Amorim told reporters at his post-match press conference.

“If Athletic Club has a sending off, we take advantage of that, we are so focused. And you see these games in the Premier League, sometimes we are not focused.

“And we don’t have that feeling that we need to go to the next stage, like we have in the Europa League, so it’s something that is mentally [wrong] in our team.”

Amorim, in his own words, is describing what many would call a cup team. United have not kicked on from last year’s FA Cup triumph over Manchester City, but no fans are putting their noses up at the prospect of winning the Europa League in Spain.

Ultimately, it suggests that Amorim’s biggest challenge for next season is to improve the mentality at United by raising the standards dramatically.

If United win the Europa League and qualify for the Champions League, the players will be tasked with playing multiple important fixtures each week, and expectations will be high. United fans will be asking for improvements, not miracles.

What’s next for Manchester United?

United’s first-team will be back in action on Friday night when they travel to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Although United have nothing but pride to play for in their remaining games, Chelsea are still in the hunt for a place in the top-four as they trail fourth-placed Man City by two points.

Chelsea were on the receiving end of a 2-0 defeat against Newcastle on Sunday which put a dent in their hopes of Champions League qualification.

Enzo Maresca’s side will have plenty to play for when they take on United, whereas Amorim’s focus will be on avoiding injuries to key players ahead of the Europa League final.

Amorim briefly touched on the Chelsea game after the 2-0 loss against West Ham.

“No, we are going to be prepared for Chelsea and we have time to train and we have time to prepare.”