Ruben Amorim responds to possible threat of relegation for Manchester United

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Ruben Amorim conceded Manchester United have to "survive" amid the extraordinary threat of a first relegation in 51 years after an eighth league defeat of the season at Wolves.

Wolves had won only two league games all season before new coach Vitor Pereira was appointed last week and the Portuguese has guided the 18th-placed side to back-to-back wins. Wolves are now only seven points behind United.

United have slumped to 14th in the table, four places above the relegation zone, at nearly the halfway stage of the league campaign. Amorim admitted the team have to "survive" amid a slump of four defeats in five league fixtures.

"In this moment, we just have to survive and to win sometimes," Amorim said at the mention of whether he is worried about teams below United, "to work on the team. We already knew it. I start this job and start with the team, the new idea of no time to train, a lot of games, tough games, we already knew it, it’s a long journey.

"Like I said in the first day, we have to continue and we have to fight these bad moments because this is part of football."

"No, no, no, no," Amorim replied when the remoteness of qualifying for a European competition was raised. "We have to work on a lot of things in our club inside the pitch, outside the pitch, so let’s focus on each game, each time and use every minute of training to improve the team.

"A lot of things (are missing), time to work, so we also have to also win games, to sell the idea to the players but if not it’s really hard. Wolves is a completely different situation."

The United hierarchy have demonstrated their ruthlessness this season with the sackings of former manager Erik ten Hag and inaugural sporting director Dan Ashworth. Amorim has become the first United manager to lose five of his first ten matches in charge since Walter Crickmer in 1932.

When asked how long it would take to turn it around at United, Amorim replied: "I have no idea. No idea. Instead of me trying to understand how much time it will take, just day by day, improving, trying to see the videos and use every minute of training and try to win some points because it’s really important in this moment."

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