RUBEN AMORIM fears his Manchester United players are suffering from stage fright at the Theater of Dreams.
But the Red Devils boss will be hoping things work out on the night when Rangers visit Old Trafford for the Battle of Britain this evening.
Sunday's 3-1 defeat to Brighton dropped United to a new low in 131 years.
It was their sixth defeat from twelve home games this season – and it was the last time they made such a dismal start to a league season in 1893-94.
For the third time in the last five league matches at Old Trafford, they conceded a goal in the opening five minutes to fall behind.
And Amorim knows this is something that cannot continue if they want to prevent their campaign from going further downhill.
United appeared to have turned a corner when they recorded impressive results at two of the toughest venues earlier this month: Liverpool and Arsenal.
Yet they followed that up with an unconvincing home win over cellar boys Southampton – and were comprehensively beaten by the Seagulls three days later.
The former Sporting Lisbon coach said: “The way we play makes us too nervous with the ball. Way too nervous and really anxious.
“That's clear. We are more nervous when we play at home than away because we lost a lot of games, like four games out of five. So it is becoming increasingly difficult.
“But we can improve. If we don't suffer the first goal, like in the fourth minute. And I remember it's the fourth minute, ten minutes. . . 15, then it is very difficult to calm the team down.
“So the first thing in my mind is that they can't score early – we have to score the first one.”
United know a win over the Scottish giants could be enough to guarantee them a place in March's Europa League final.
So the message of Amorim will be clear: make sure you achieve the first goal.
He added: “If we score the first one I think that will change and we will play better at home initially.
'So that's it. It's very clear. We are very anxious to play, especially at home. And we suffer from goals. Then it's really difficult.
“I didn't say I was nervous. I said the team was nervous. I was just frustrated.
“But it is clear to everyone that it is becoming increasingly difficult to play at home.”
United centre-back Harry Maguire admits the team's habit of conceding a goal early in a home game is becoming a major problem.
Yet the England defender insists this is something that can be easily remedied as they are not outplayed by their opponents.
The 31-year-old said: “We talked about the first goal at Old Trafford.
“It's not like teams come here and open us up and break us down tactically.
“I think anyone who was at the game against Brighton would know it was a 50-50 game.
“It could have gone either way. We gave them a goal early.
“We talked about it in the preparation. So we have to stop giving away that first goal. That's the first and most important thing.
“The first goal against Nottingham Forest, against Bournemouth, was a set play.
“The first goal against Southampton was also a set play. So these are not issues that pose a tactical problem.
“These are things where you have to go into the game and be focused and mentally ready to win a football game.”
Maguire believes a few good results could quickly turn the tide for United and does not feel there is much wrong.
He added: “Football matches are sometimes defined by narrow margins.
“Right now we're not getting them by small margins because we're not mentally focused enough to make sure we go all the way.
“But we know the situation can change.
“As the boss has said, this is a great opportunity to go out there, put in a performance and get a win and then go into Sunday's game against Fulham.
“We'll take each game as it comes, starting with this one – and it's another chance to move on from Brighton.”
Comments