Lost in transition, the Man United saga

Since every Manchester United fixture feels like the chronicle of a defeat foretold, about the only surprise on Monday night was Newcastle not being able to win by a bigger margin.

- Agencies

KOLKATA: Exactly how bad things are could be gauged by head coach Ruben Amorim refusing to rule out relegation after the 0-2 defeat.

Manchester United have not been demoted since 1973-74 but with the 13-time Premier League champions hitting the kind of lows they have not in decades, the possibility cannot be ignored, even though Amorim may have meant it as a wake-up call.

This was their third successive defeat at home, a first since 1979. Not since September 1930 have they lost six matches in one month like they have now.

"It's a little bit embarrassing to be United coach and to lose a lot of games. But we have to cope with that," Amorim said.

Manchester United ended 2024 in 14th place, their worst since 1989, on 22 points. That is seven points off the drop zone and less than half of what leaders Liverpool, who have a match in hand and whom Manchester United meet on Sunday, have halfway through the season.

To secure Amorim's services, the club paid €10m to Sporting. A coach who has gone 34 matches unbeaten, won the league twice in Portugal and had tamed Manchester City, was worth that. Amorim, 39, now has five defeats in his first eight league matches, which is the worst start at Manchester United in 103 years. He has lost six of his 11 matches in charge.

"He came in as a young manager and knew it was going to be a big job, but it is far bigger than he could have imagined," Gary Neville, the former Manchester United defender, said on Sky Sports.