Ruben Amorim discovers FOUR things he must immediately fix to solve Man Utd crisis

Manchester United fell to a disappointing defeat against Brighton to once again underline just how difficult a job that Ruben Amorim has on his hands at Old Trafford

Another weekend to forget for Ruben Amorim and Manchester United, then.

The Red Devils have been disappointing in the Premier League this season and they remain 13th in the table after losing 3-1 at home to Brighton.

A Bruno Fernandes penalty cancelled out Yankuba Minteh’s opener but second half goals from Karou Mitoma and Georginio Rutter condemned United to their fourth defeat in five league games.

The size of the task facing Amorim has never been clearer and the performance underlines some of the issues he and Ineos have to solve over the coming weeks and months. Here, Mirror Football picks out four things that will be on Amorim’s mind tonight…

1) A case for the defence

Say what you will about managers, tactics etc, but how many times are Manchester United let down simply by poor decision-making or individual errors?

Andre Onana’s latest calamity put paid to any chance they had of salvaging something from Sunday’s match against Brighton and it’s getting hard to make a convincing case for Amorim to stick with the former Inter Milan stopper long-term.

Profit and Sustainability Rules means that is probably something he cannot afford to do in January, but it has to be a long-term goal. We’ve seen enough to recognise that now. What he can do this month, though, is bring in a left wing-back.

Simply put, surely United have to prioritise a signing in this area ahead of next month’s transfer deadline. After all, how can we judge Amorim’s preferred tactics if the whole team is out of sync with a right-footer (Diogo Dalot) playing at left wing-back? Recent talk has linked them with Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri, who seems like an attainable target. Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez is another player who fits the bill. United should be doing what they can to get that done and then focus on finding Amorim a new keeper for the next window.

2) Stick to his guns

Yeah, things are bad right now. Maybe as bad as I can remember for a Manchester United team in my lifetime. But talk of Amorim switching away from his preferred shape is ludicrous.

It would make no sense for him to abandon the 3-4-3 approach that brought him so much success at Sporting Lisbon. After all, that’s what put him on United’s radar in the first place.

Amorim may have only generated 11 points from his first 11 Premier League matches, but he’s working with a squad which has underwhelmed for a long time. He needs time – and backing – in future transfer windows to turn things around.

Ten Hag stressed on more than one occasion that Manchester United ‘would never’ play like his Ajax team. That sounded crazy at the time. And it would be even crazier for Amorim to follow the Dutchman’s lead in that respect.

3) A license to thrill…

Fernandes, for all his flaws, is a throwback to the days where Manchester United players had that bit of magic about them. But beyond him and Amad, whose growth has been encouraging, there was a dearth of creativity on show against the Seagulls.

Indeed, Fernandes’ penalty was United’s solitary shot on target. That’s just not on, regardless of who is on the pitch.

United need to start easing the creative burden on Fernandes moving forward and its on others to contribute. It will take time for United to become fluent with Amorim’s principles. But when it comes to creativity, big strides have to be taken – and fast.

4) Striking out

It’s hard not to feel for Joshua Zirkzee, who has endured a difficult start to his Manchester United career. And while he’s improved in recent weeks, that doesn’t mean United can overlook the fact they lack an elite striker.

Rasmus Hojlund may well turn out to be that No.9 in a few years, but it feels like he’s getting off lightly given he’s averaging a goal every four games in the Premier League. It’s hardly awe-inspiring stuff, is it?

Neither are to blame, of course. United’s poor recruitment is hardly the world’s best kept secret. But it’s easy to see why Amorim wants to reunite with Viktor Gyokeres at Old Trafford.

Realistically, though, he’s not coming in January. So Amorim will have to use whatever magic he has to generate some confidence in Hojlund and Zirkzee if United are to find the goals that will fire them up the table.

Long term, though? Amorim and United need a ruthless No.9. Based on the evidence we have so far, neither Hojlund or Zirkzee are it.

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