By Simon Wilkes
Manchester United duo Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw jumped to the defence of under-fire manager Ruben Amorim after Tottenham beat the Red Devils 1-0 in the Europa League final.
Amorim has overseen a dismal run of form since replacing Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford, and saw his hopes of lifting some silverware ended by Spurs in Bilbao on Wednesday night.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was also under pressure going into the European showpiece, which was decided by Brennan Johnson’s scrappy goal on 42 minutes.
Call for faith
Amorim faced the press after the match and asked for a ‘little bit of faith’.
But with one Premier League game remaining, a home clash with Aston Villa on Sunday, United are sitting down in 16th place, trailing champions Liverpool by a whopping 44 points.
Portuguese manager Amorim fought his corner in the aftermath of the final defeat, saying: “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 again. I am confident in my job. As you see, I will not change anything in the way I do things.
“In this moment, I am not here to defend myself. It’s not my style. I have nothing to show to the fans. In this moment [I need] a little bit of faith.”
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Talk about Bruno
Amorim arrived at Old Trafford in November but has failed to impress the fans.
He has the backing of his fellow countryman Fernandes, though, with the United forward telling the press: “We just agreed that he’s the right man.
“He has done a lot of good things. We know that the manager is looked at by the results. Obviously we see more than that as players.
“We know for everyone it will be about him bringing back the positivity in the club, trying to bring the club back to fight for trophies, fight for the big trophies.
“And we all agree that he’s the right man.”
Shaw points finger at players
Left-back Shaw also echoed Fernandes’ comments, and admits the United players have to take some responsibility for such a dismal display on the pitch this season.
He said: “We’re all gutted, it’s not how we saw the outcome to be honest.
“This whole season, it’s been nowhere near good enough. I think all of us have to question ourselves on if we’re good enough to be here.
“For a team like Manchester (United), for the season we’ve had, it’s not acceptable. We know that, we all know that, I know that. It’s not where Manchester (United) should be.”
On Amorim, Shaw added on Sky Sports: “I can say 100 percent right now he’s the right man.
“Results have not been good at all. I’ve been here for a long time now and been through different managers.
“Ruben, for me, I talk on my behalf and I can talk on behalf of all the players, he is 100 percent the right manager to take us back to where this club should be.”
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Geoffrey H. Latayan 
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