Bilbao (Spain), May 22 (IANS) Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has stated that he will not resign following the club’s UEFA Europa League final loss to Tottenham Hotspur, but would step down if the board and fans don’t want to see him continuing with the side.

A 1-0 loss in Bilbao on Wednesday night cost Amorim’s men a place in the Champions League next season.

Amorim took over at United in November with the club 13th in the Premier League table. They have slipped three places with the club knocked out of the three cup competitions in the process.

Speaking at the press conference after the Europa League loss, Amorim said, “In this moment, I’m not going to be here defending myself. It’s not my style, I cannot do it. It’s really hard for me. I have nothing to show to the fans and say ‘I’m going to improve because of this, I have these problems.”

“In this moment it’s a little bit of faith, so let’s see. I’m always open. If the board and the fans feel I’m not the right guy, I will go in the next day without any conversation about compensation, but I will not quit.

“I’m really confident about my job and, as you can see, I will not change anything in the way I do things,” he said.

Reflecting on the match, Amorim thought United were the better team in the final against Spurs, but were ultimately punished for not being able to find the net.

“We are obviously devastated with this loss. We lost one game in this competition, we didn’t win it in the last game. I think if you look at the whole game, we were the better team but if you don’t score goals you don’t win matches,” he said.

–IANS

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