Ruben Amorim spoke candidly with the media in the aftermath of our home loss to West Ham United, suggesting there are more issues to be solved than only the differing level of our performances in the Premier League and the Europa League.
We went down 2-0 to Graham Potter's team on Sunday afternoon, courtesy of goals in either half from Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen, with the Reds now suffering defeat in the last four Premier League matches played in the immediate aftermath of both legs of our quarter-final and semi-final European ties over the last month.
The comparative levels of how we have performed in both competitions was raised in Ruben's post-match press conference, leading the boss to suggest that the same urgency has not been in play in domestic action without the jeopardy of a knockout competition, as he also pointed to there being deeper problems at the club that must be resolved in the summer months.
You can watch Ruben honestly take on the media's questions, or read his quotes in full, by scrolling below...
Ruben, obviously a disappointing afternoon - has it been compounded by Leny Yoro, is it a positive update on him?
“We have to assess Leny in a better way tomorrow. He felt something, but I think it could be a small thing.”
And on the overall performance today?
“I think it’s quite similar in some games that we have here, Wolves was a little bit the same. We create more chances than the opponent but the lack of urgency [was disappointing] to protect our goal in the few times that West Ham was near our box. We had a lack of urgency. We were near the [opposition] box and had a lack of urgency. We need to be more aggressive. If you cannot score in the first ball, [then] the second ball, if you cross the ball, if we are aggressive, we can score. We had a lack of pace. We have to do so much better, and for me, the biggest concern is that feeling that ‘it’s okay, we cannot change our position so much, so it’s okay.’ That is the biggest problem in our club in this moment because we are losing the feeling of we are a massive club and that it’s the end of the world to lose a game at home. So I think that is the biggest concern in our club.”
You’re in 16th place now, it makes it more likely that you could even finish 17th. As the manager of this football club, how do you feel when you look at that league table and see your team in 16th?
“I think… Are we supposed to feel a manager of Manchester United in that position, embarrassed, and it’s hard to accept. And I think everybody has to think seriously about a lot of things here. Everybody is thinking about the final, the final is not the issue in this moment in our club, we have bigger, bigger things to think [about]. And we have to change a lot of things in the end of the season.”
Just talking about what you’re talking about there - on the second goal, [Manuel] Ugarte loses possession, okay not great, but that can happen. But his reaction, he just stays on his knees, there’s no attempt to run back. How can you hope to be successful as a football team if you have players who think it’s optional whether they run back or not?
“I don’t want to talk about specific players, it’s a team thing, and when it’s team thing, it’s a manager thing. So we will try to address that. It has to be with a lack of urgency to defend the box and to attack the box.”
Just talking generally, though, is there a cultural issue still among the players…?
“Yeah, yeah. I think it’s not… It’s the feeling. I will not talk about culture because we are talking about in this moment, but it’s a feeling that is the most dangerous feeling that we have in a big club.”
You’ve been here for quite a few months now, are you shocked, surprised, saddened, that the things you’re talking about, like urgency, which seem to be quite fundamental to playing high-level football, you’ve not been able to drive that out of the team?
“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 the games to take [us through]… 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 win to go to the next stage, like we have in the Europa League, so it’s something that is mentally [wrong] in our team.”
It looks like players are picking and choosing which games to play in.
“It’s hard to explain that. We need… that feeling, I have that feeling that there’s that lack of urgency in everything we do, so it’s a big concern.”
Three years ago, when the team finished sixth, fans were chanting: ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt’ at the players. Are you surprised by how supportive fans have been and that they’ve not been booing or getting on players’ backs?
“I think they are doing… It’s hard to say something about our fans and everybody, because there’s no explanation. no matter what the context, and I’m talking here, I’m the biggest [one] responsible for that. So we need to change a lot of things during the summer.”
That feeling Ruben that you were saying, that it’s okay to lose, those kind of players… it’s obviously clear you don’t want that kind of attitude next season, but those players, can it not be coached into them, do they just have to be moved on or is it a mixture?
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to talk about players, I’m talking about myself, the culture in club, the culture in the team. I have that feeling, we need to change that, and we need to be really strong in the summer and to be brave, because we will not have a next season like this if we start like this. Or if the feeling is still here, we should give the space to different persons.”
After Brentford, you said you got the impression some players were looking at the Athletic Club semi-final when they should have been focused on Brentford. Did you get that sense that today that they were already looking ahead to that Spurs game, and if that's the case, are some players risking their place in that Europa League final if they continue to perform like this?
“To be honest, I'm with you. I’m not concerned about the final, it’s by far the smallest problem in our club. We need to change something that is deeper than this. We are showing that in the end of this season that we are not… playing Premier League and Champions League for us, is the moon. So we need to know that. I’m not concerned about the final. They will be focused and I don’t know what is best, if it’s playing Champions League or not. So let’s think about Chelsea and to improve a lot of things.”
How do you keep them focused on Chelsea, because you’ve got a big game now on Friday night, in between that final. You’re talking like a man who’s desperate to win that game, but maybe the players aren’t feeling like that.
“No, we are going to be prepared for Chelsea and we have time to train and we have time to prepare.”