Ruben Amorim stressed that Manchester United must adopt survival mode after a fourth defeat in five Premier League games.
United were stunned at Molineux by a resurgent Wolves who struck twice in the second half to make it two wins from two, with Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan on target.
It was a chastening defeat though for the visitors, who have now lost each of their last three games, conceding nine goals in the process, as the Amorim era hits its first stumbling block in the road to restoration.
Asked whether his side needed to be concerned by teams below them, with United 14th in the Premier League and just seven points clear of the drop, Amorim said: ‘Yeah – in this moment we just have to survive and to win sometimes.’
Amorim, who has now lost five of his ten games in all competitions as United boss, added that United must forget about qualifying for European football next season.
‘No, no, no, no,’ he said when asked whether United could think of Europe. ‘We have to work on a lot of things in our club both inside and outside the pitch.’
Ruben Amorim’s side have lost five of their 10 games since the new head coach took over
The Red Devils boss admitted his side need to start worrying about the teams below them
Bruno Fernandes was sent off just after half-time – with Wolves taking the lead soon after
Perhaps more alarmingly still for United fans, Amorim insisted that he has ‘no idea’ how long it will take for his side to improve.
‘I have no idea. No idea,’ said Amorim. ‘Instead of me trying to understand how much time it will take – just day by day it’s about improving, trying to see videos and using every minute of training and try to win some points because it’s really important in this moment.
‘The idea needs time. This will be a tough moment, we are far from the end of this moment and that’s it – we have to continue and focus on the next game.’
With the scores still locked at 0-0, United made about as poor a start to the second half as they might have hoped.
United skipper Bruno Fernandes was sent off in the 47th minute for a second booking and for the second time in three games, Amorim’s side conceded directly from a corner.
Cunha’s in-swinging delivery beat Andre Onana, slipping in under the crossbar, before Hwang wrapped the game up for Wolves in injury time, converting back across goal to seal three massive points for the hosts.
Vitor Pereira, who has now won his first two games in charge of Wolves since Gary O’Neil was sacked, revealed that the corner was something that Cunha had worked on in training.
‘He (Cunha) is a top player,’ said Pereira. ‘He’s a special player who can do things that can make the difference in the small details. We tried this in-swinging corner to exploit it. With this kind of player, these things can happen.’
Vitor Pereira admitted Matheus Cunha’s corner goal was something that had been worked on
While Man United’s form is faltering, Wolves have made it two wins from two under Pereira
Hwang Hee-chan made certain of all three points late in the game with a close-range finish
The forward himself added: ‘I feel so happy. We didn’t start the season well, we come together, we suffer together and we score together.
‘You can see how happy the fans are. He’s [Pereira] come here with a lot of energy and he said it was his dream to come here and manage a team in the Premier League, and you can see the energy.
‘We train it a lot – we try to manage the goalkeeper and we did it so well and I’m so happy. The first half I did one and it was saved and in the second half I get some luck.
‘Channy says to me every day “pass to me and I’ll score” and I’m so happy because I got the chance to pass to him and he scored.’
While Amorim leaves Molineux already thinking of how his side can improve when they take on Newcastle on Monday, his opposite number Pereira admitted it was ‘special’ to win his first game at his new home.
‘It’s a fantastic and special feeling. We can see the players are ready to suffer and compete for each other.’
