Amorim: We must think about Thursday now
Ruben Amorim admits there were elements he liked in Manchester United's 4-3 defeat at Brentford, but emphasised the focus is firmly on our crucial upcoming UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg.
The much-changed Reds were narrowly beaten 4-3 by the Bees in the Premier League on Sunday, on the back of Thursday’s impressive 3-0 win over Athletic Club in Bilbao.
Ahead of the decisive return match at Old Trafford in a few days' time, Amorim rested some key players for the trip to south-west London, but unfortunately lost Matthijs de Ligt to injury in the first half at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Scroll down to watch our head coach’s interview with MUTV, and read what he said to BBC Sport and Sky Sports…
Amorim's reaction
▶ INTERVIEW | Ruben says United have plenty of lessons to learn following defeat at Brentford...
BRENTFORD MATCH REFLECTS THE MOMENT WE’RE IN
"It was a little bit of a reflection of our moment. We started well, we controlled the game quite well but then throw-ins and set-pieces were a problem for us, but that is normal because we didn’t have the height in the team. That is something that we need to address when we come to these games. But the context is the context in this moment. We were near the draw, we suffered [to go] 3-1 down and then we let go. It was quite similar to the first games we had where we lost control for a second and suffered two goals in a row. We fought back, we were near, we tried to push but then, in the end, we lost."
PLEASED WITH YOUNG PLAYERS
“I liked [the performance of] the young kids. I liked how we controlled the game without many occasions to score. We fought and in the end we lost, but there are good things for the future."
WHY I MADE EIGHT CHANGES TO THE TEAM
"We, as a club, need to understand in this moment that we have a big responsibility [to win the Europa League]. We have to prepare a squad for different competitions."
DIFFICULT TO JUGGLE PREMIER LEAGUE AND EUROPA LEAGUE
"[Rotation is] good for the players. Everybody is playing, we are preparing more than one game but it’s hard. Of course we want to be competitive, we struggled a lot during these 90 minutes. We have to think about the next game and then the Premier League. It’s really hard but we are doing the best we can to try to manage [the situation] and try to risk in some games."
Amorim selects United's youngest Premier League XI
ArticleRuben Amorim has made history with his starting line-up for this afternoon's match at Brentford.
SECOND LEG AGAINST ATHLETIC CLUB IS THE MOST IMPORTANT GAME
"I think it's stressful to lose games. When we're fighting for a title it's not stressful. I have no doubts that we are playing better and we are understanding the way we play, even in this context. So we have to take all the hits in this moments. We are losing games in the Premier League, but we are fighting for the Europa League so we need to accept that and to think about now Thursday which is the most important game for us."
EUROPA LEAGUE SUCCESS WOULD GIVE BACK TO OUR FANS
"It’s a real dilemma because I think we, in this moment, are not ready to play in the Premier League competitively and to be in the Champions League. We know that but we need to win and we need to fight to win this competition [the Europa League] to give something to our fans and to go to the Champions League. Then we will have time to prepare the team to cope with those two competitions. So it’s a dilemma but we want to win of course."