Ruben Amorim reaction speaks volumes after having to correct Man Utd club staff member

boss cut a frustrated figure after he had to remind the press officer to hold the club’s pre- press conference following Thursday night’s clash against Real Sociedad. Amorim had been speaking after his side were held to a 1-1 draw away to La Real, leaving them with work to do in next week’s second leg at Old Trafford.

United travelled to San Sebastian in the knowledge that the Europa League represented their final chance of a trophy this season, having been dumped out of the FA Cup against Fulham over the weekend. What’s more, given their lowly position in the Premier League, the competition is likely the only route left open for United to secure Champions League football.

Amorim had been taking part in his usual post-match press conference duty but had been under the impression he would also be fielding questions ahead of the weekend clash with . As he was heading for the exit door, Amorim turned to the press officer and asked: “Not press conference today?” A reference to an earlier agreement that Amorim would take embargoed questions from the media ahead of Sunday’s meeting with the Gunners.

Amorim didn’t receive an initial response and the Portuguese tactician was just about to leave the room when he was called back by the United club official. The press officer eventually said: “Oh sorry, we’re going to do that… it’s a good job he reminded me.” The former Sporting manager returned to his chair to face yet more questions from the press, but not before he let out a big huff.

Joshua Zirkzee gave United a second-half lead following a sleepy opening 45 minutes, but hopes of taking a win into the second leg were squashed when Mikel Oyarzabal levelled things up from the spot. Speaking prior to the embargoed press conference, Amorim had reflected on his side’s latest winless outing against La Liga outfit Sociedad.

He said: “One thing that I am sure – they’re anxious to score goals and win games. They are doing their best and sometimes when they want to do their best, but they’re not deciding the best way in their position.”

Amorim continued: “I felt until the penalty we had control of the game and the penalty changed the momentum. Our team in the last minutes were really tired. We take this stage to Old Trafford and it is going to be a different game. The pressure will be on us in that stadium. We will be surviving physically to get to Sunday. The momentum changed, but I think it was clearly fatigue.”

Following Sunday’s clash against , United will look to earn progression into the quarter-finals of the Europa League with a second-leg win over La Real. The winner of next week’s tie will play either FCSB or Lyon in the next round.