Ruben Amorim has admitted he 'understands' the criticism from Manchester United midfielders Christian Eriksen and Casemiro after the pair's weaknesses were exploited again in the club's latest defeat.
United make a tricky trip to Anfield on Sunday afternoon to take on Liverpool, who are in charge of the Premier League title, with Amorim's team languishing in 14th place.
The Portuguese head coach faces a huge decision on who can best play in his midfield, but fans are mainly hoping that the partnership between Casemiro and Eriksen will not be used.
Manuel Ugarte, Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Eriksen, Casemiro and Joshua Zirkzee are all expected to make the trip to take on United's fierce rivals, who boast one of the league's best midfielders.
Eriksen and Casemiro previously started alongside each other in United's 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle and were comfortably beaten by Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton, who enjoyed a field day at Old Trafford.
The pair have a combined age of 64 and lacked the pace of their opponents against Newcastle, who broke through United's engine room with ease at several points in the match.
Amorim faced groans from United supporters who had predicted such an outcome when the line-up against Newcastle was revealed and there are fears the pair could start again against Liverpool.
However, Amorim – who is desperate for form with his struggling United team – has revealed he understands the frustration and has labeled the criticism as 'fair'.
“I can understand the criticism and if you compare the pace of the Newcastle midfielders with our pace, I understand that,” Amorim told Sky Sports.
“We try to deal with it and try to put our players in a position that can hide the pace difference a little bit.
'But I understand that after the match it is very easy to judge the players.
'I think all the criticism surrounding my team is justified and I can live with that. If it's fair, I can live with that and I can understand it,” the United boss said.
Admittedly, Amorim has tried to implement his preferred playing style and gain a better understanding of his players' capabilities during the busiest time of the season, which has resulted in limited time on the training pitch.
In contrast, Liverpool boss Arne Slot has inherited a midfield of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai, which was previously assembled under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp.
A midfield trio of Mainoo, Fernandes and Ugarte are largely expected to start at Anfield on Sunday as United look to overcome one of the biggest upsets of the season.
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