Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim has defended his formation, saying recent results back him up, but admits United remain a long way from their top level.
After an inconsistent start to the new Premier League season, Amorim won his first back-to-back league games since taking over at Man Utd in mid-October.
That has now led to the Red Devils going five matches unbeaten in the Premier League with Amorim’s side up to seventh in the table, once place ahead of defending champions Liverpool and four points behind second-placed Man City.
There were critics of Amorim’s decision to stick with his 3-4-3 formation earlier in the campaign as Man Utd failed to pick up results as it looked like he was heading for the sack.
However, Amorim has turned things around using the same system and has highlighted that “more confidence” was the key to their recent positive form.
Amorim told Stan Sport: “We are playing better, but we are playing better because we have more confidence, and that starts with good results, for example, against Liverpool.
“We are getting better, but I can share my feeling: when we finished the game against Tottenham and I was coming back to Carrington, I was watching the game and my feeling was frustration, that we are far from perfection.
“We are far from being that team that can win every game. So I think we have a lot to do, but I also have the feeling, and I’ve been saying this for many months, that the formation is not the problem.
“The formation is the start of something, then it’s the dynamic, the confidence, the way we play, how competitive we are.
“If you look at the games we struggled in this season, it was not about the formation for me. It was the lack of intensity. We need to be perfect in this league to win a lot of games.”
On the public backing from Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Amorim added: “It’s always really important, but it’s more important for the fans to understand that we have a clear path, and we are going to do everything and continue that path no matter what.
“To be honest, it doesn’t change much for me, because I’m not worried about losing my job. I always have that feeling.
“But if you remember when Jim gave that interview, it settled down a lot around the club. The noise changed completely. That was really important for the team, and if it’s important for the team, it’s important for me.”
