A group of Manchester United players are starting to doubt Ruben Amorim's system and believe that the coach's few wins have been down to luck.
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Players doubting coach's systemMicah Richards criticised 3-4-3 shapeUnited in worst form since relegation in 1974Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Sunday's 1-0 reverse at Tottenham was the Red Devils' eighth loss since Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag and reports that discontent is brewing among the squad's ranks amid the team's worst run of results since they were relegated from the top flight 51 years ago. The report states that some players are starting to 'lose faith' in the coach's 3-4-3 system and believe that the few victories United have earned under the Portuguese's watch have been down to luck more than Amorim's tactical innovations. A dressing room source told thethat the consensus after wins is: "We got away with one but we might not be so lucky next time."
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United have won just four Premier League games out of 14 under Amorim. Amad Diallo's late hat-trick helped them come from behind to beat Southampton 3-1 last month while two of the team's other three league wins have been by a single goal, Amad's last-gasp winner at Manchester City and Lisandro Martinez's deflected long-range hit against Fulham. They also enjoyed a huge stroke of fortune as they sneaked past Leicester City in the FA Cup earlier this month, with Harry Maguire's injury-time winner being clearly offside.
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Amorim has vowed all along that he will not stray from the 3-4-3 formation he has used throughout his coaching career and which brought him great success at Sporting CP. However, his methods are facing increasing criticism in the media. Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards said on : "It's very hard to adapt when you've been playing in a four to go into a three, but as a manager you have to be able to adapt too. Sometimes you've got your way of playing, but can you tweak little things to make players more comfortable? He's got to stick by his principles and his tactics and take that into next season, but it's United and we expect results now." Meanwhile, former United captain Gary Neville said during the defeat at Tottenham: "It breaks all rules of football, it's absolute madness. The structure of the team is awful, you wouldn't see this in Under 9s football."
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The Red Devils' next game is against Everton and former boss David Moyes, who has earned as many points in his six games back in charge of the Toffees as Amorim has in his last 13 matches with United.