Ruben Amorim cut a visibly frustrated figure after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with West Ham on Thursday night, acknowledging a now familiar pattern of late collapses that continues to frustrate supporters and widen doubts about the team’s progress. Although he insisted he was calm, his post-match tone suggested otherwise.
The Old Trafford crowd made their displeasure known, booing the players off after yet another missed opportunity. Roy Keane, speaking on Sky Sports, echoed the mood, calling “frustration” the defining emotion. He added he still “wouldn’t trust or believe in this team,” highlighting persistent issues in defence and midfield.
United had taken the lead when Diogo Dalot finished confidently early in the second half, raising hopes of a crucial climb up the league table. But with just seven minutes left, Soungoutou Magassa reacted quickest to a loose ball after a corner, poking in his first Premier League goal and punishing United’s inability to close out matches.
Amorim admitted the sequence was avoidable, criticising the loss of the second ball and United’s struggle in aerial duels. He stressed that West Ham, despite sitting third-bottom and winless away since August, “deserved” their equaliser because United allowed pressure to build late on.
He refrained from delivering the type of furious dressing-room tirade he unleashed after the loss to Brighton earlier in the season, choosing instead to address the squad on Friday at Carrington. Amorim believes emotional conversations immediately after matches rarely lead to constructive solutions, though he was clear on what had gone wrong.
The bigger issue for United is that late-game failures are becoming routine. Earlier this season at Nottingham Forest, they let a lead slip before scraping a draw. A week later at Tottenham, the same scenario unfolded. Their home defeat to 10-man Everton after the international break further raised concerns about their mentality.
Thursday’s draw leaves United eighth in the table, part of a congested mid-zone where 11 clubs are separated by just four points. Amorim insists the team is not going backwards, arguing inconsistency is part of their development, but he conceded that the latest equaliser was unacceptable for a side aiming to return to the top.
United enjoyed momentum in October, winning three straight and earning Amorim the manager of the month award. Since then, however, they have managed just one win in five, raising questions about whether that progress was genuine or merely temporary.
“If you look at the goal, after 83 minutes we had everything under control,” Amorim said. “We must do better.” His words reflect a growing urgency, as each dropped point makes their objectives harder to achieve.
Next, United travel to face bottom-placed Wolves on Monday, once again playing the final match of the Premier League round. They will have another target to aim for, though expectations are shrinking with each stumble.
Against a team who have beaten no-one, failure is simply not an option. For Amorim, the pressure is mounting. For fans, patience is thinning. And for Manchester United, the search for stability goes on.
