Ruben Amorim heaped praise on Manchester United’s spirited performance in the side’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool, but bemoaned his players’ lack of consistency during his time as head coach.
Harry Maguire missed a huge chance deep into added time to seal United the most unlikely of victories in what was a thrilling Premier League contest between two of England’s biggest rivals at Anfield.
Amad Diallo had earlier found an equaliser for the visitors during a dramatic second half on Merseyside, in which Lisandro Martinez, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah also hit the target.
Prior to the contest, United had endured their worst run of results since as far back as the 1930/31 season, when the club were relegated into the second tier of English football.
But the draw, which came after a wretched run of four straight losses for United, eases the pressure on Amorim, whose team rose to 13th in the table with the result.
However, in a highly charged post-match interview with Sky Sports, Amorim could not hide his frustration that his players had failed to produce similar performances against the likes of Bournemouth, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest in recent weeks.
Asked whether the match represented a step in the direction for United, the Portuguese responded: ‘Yes, because the expectations were so much different to what we saw during the game.
‘I think I get more mad because of the other games, so it’s even harder to understand some things.
‘This is not about the system, it’s not about the technique, it’s about something else. It’s hard to understand even for the coach.
‘It was a point, they deserved the point, but it’s just one point. I think we should get mad and disappointed, more than the other days against Bournemouth, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest. More than those days, today we need to be really disappointed.’
Asked if he passed on that message to his players, Amorim bluntly replied: ‘No.
‘This is because I have to calm down to say the right things.
‘We are in a difficult moment but it’s hard to not get really mad.’
The former Sporting boss added: ‘If we play against Liverpool every day, we will do that, so we have to do it against any opponent.
‘We need to fight really bad to get out of this situation and then the way we play in certain moments of the game, we have already proven in the other games that we can do it.
‘But the way we were really competitive. That is the crucial thing going forward.
‘I’m happy for the performance, not happy for the result, but I’m really, really mad because of the other games.
Luke Shaw and Mason Mount both travelled with the squad to Anfield, while Joshua Zirkzee received a warm reception from United’s away support after his early substitution against Newcastle.
‘The fans noticed so I think it’s really, really important,’ Amorim said.
‘Today, I felt like the players really wanted it. Tomorrow: Relax, forget and then, in the next game, return to the same behaviour.
‘I will do everything. More than the system that you guys are talking about, more than that.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.