Ruben Amorim felt his Manchester United side deserved the three points, after a late Amad hat-trick ensured a dramatic 3-1 victory over Southampton at Old Trafford.
The Premier League's bottom side caused plenty of problems for the Reds, particularly in the first half, and led through an own goal by Manuel Ugarte.
Amorim felt the Saints tired in the closing stages, which allowed us to wrest control in decisive fashion, and he warned that Amad needs to keep his feet on the ground, despite celebrating his recent new contract in perfect fashion.
Read a selection of what the head coach had to say in his various interviews with the official broadcasters...
MY ASSESSMENT
“It was not a great match from our side. We had some problems, especially with balls between the lines, and did not have the connections we're supposed to have in the game. It was, more or less, system versus system with a lot of duels. The speed from [Kamaldeen] Sulemana, who was really hard to catch, and they created some chances. We improved in the second half and, in the final 30 minutes, I felt Southampton were very tired, with the pressure we created. They lost some strength because they were going man-to-man during the pressure. They lose some power and the most important thing in this moment is to win and we did it. I had a feeling it was going to be hard but, in the end, I think we deserved the win.”
WHAT DID YOU SAY AT HALF-TIME?
“What I said was to try to understand the game, why we were suffering, and then explain, in five minutes, the way we're supposed to do the second half. I think, especially in the second half, Southampton were getting tired. One more second to find the ball and then you can find players between the lines. The players from the bench helped us to win the game.
SURPRISED BY SOUTHAMPTON?
”I was not surprised. I know this coach [Ivan Juric] brings a lot of intensity. His style, I know, in Italy. Strong in the duels. We need to suffer. We need to understand that every team, even Southampton, who are in a bad moment, have really good players. You can feel [Tyler] Dibling and Mateus [Fernandes], without any pressure, could play with the ball as they have that little bit of space in the first half. We need to be focused and prepared for difficulties in every match.“
MESSAGE TO AMAD
“He needs to continue. In football, one day, you're a really good player. The next day, you have to do it all over again. That's the spirit we need to have in this team. We've won one, scored three goals, and need to prepare for the next match. But he did a great job, even during the game [before his goals]. He has a lot to improve. He played in a different position today and then, in the second half, we took advantage of his ability, with good assists from the players. His last goal was similar to the one against Everton.”
ALL THE PLAYERS ARE THE SAME
“All the players in this team have the same responsibility. Amad doesn't have to step up. If they work and train well, good things are going to happen. He has the same responsibility as every player that plays for Manchester United. He is in a great moment, doing a very good season but, like I've said, we see this in the past with a lot of players, players in our squad. He has to continue to work and play like that.”
SUBS MADE A DIFFERENCE
“What I think about the substitutes is sometimes it goes well, but we have to see the game was when Southampton were tired. So it's a different game with fresh players against a tired team, it's completely different. The first ones did the job and tired the other team, to then take the opportunities to win the game with our quality players. I see the game that way.”
STADIUM'S SUPPORT
“It's special because I can feel the stadium, the sound is something special because everybody understands it's a difficult moment. We need these final moments, the goals, the win, to push up all our staff, all our fans, our players to continue to do the job when the job is difficult.”
BRIGHTON NEXT
“We managed to win and must hold onto that feeling and go again on Sunday. Tomorrow, they have to rest and recover. This kind of club looks to win every game. In football, this is in the past and we need to prepare for the future.”