info@businessghana.com
"Embarrassed."
That was the word used by Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim to describe how he feels about his side's current position in the Premier League.
Languishing in 16th and on their joint-worst winless run of seven games following a 2-0 home defeat by West Ham, it begs the question just how much worse can things get for United?
Under the Portuguese, it has been a league season to forget.
After being appointed in November following the sacking of Erik ten Hag, Amorim's United will go into the history books for all the wrong sort of records.
BBC Sport takes a look at the stats behind Amorim's tenure.
Manchester United were already on a downward trajectory when Amorim took over from Ten Hag last year.
The Red Devils sat 14th in the Premier League with three wins from their opening nine matches.
Things were bad, but they got worse.
While a new manager can often bring struggling teams a turn in fortunes or a so-called 'new manager bounce', no such thing has happened at United and instead their dour form has intensified under Amorim.
They have accrued 24 points from 25 league games, dropped to 16th and their win record sits at an uncomfortably low 24%.
Against the 16 non-relegated teams this season they have picked up just 23 points from a possible 87. If results against the three relegated teams were removed from the Premier League, United would sit rock bottom.
Since 26 January, Amorim's side have only beaten relegated duo Ipswich and Leicester in the league.
On the basis of three points for a win, they are heading for their worst tally since their 1930-31 relegation campaign, when they would have collected 29 points in a 42-game campaign.
Premier League table since Amorim's first match in charge on 23 November
At home their record has been particularly damaging.
With nine home Premier League defeats they have suffered their joint-most losses in a single league campaign at Old Trafford, along with 1930-31, 1933-34 and 1962-63.
Their 17 league defeats overall are their most in a league campaign since 1973-74 (20), when they were relegated to the second tier.
They have fallen behind in 19 out of their 25 league games (W3 D3 L13) - only Southampton (21) and Leicester (23) have trailed in more matches - with United going 1-0 down 12 times at Old Trafford. Only Leicester have done so more (15).
Amorim's first match in charge came on 23 November 2024 and since then their record has continued to disappoint:
Amorim's win record of 24% is worse than any United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson's reign, with David Moyes' 50% the second-worst.
United have won just six of their 25 league matches, drawing six and losing 13.
In that time they have conceded 41 goals, with only the three relegated sides and Tottenham conceding more.
United have conceded 1.6 goals per game under Amorim and kept just four clean sheets.
They also have the sixth-worst record in the league in front of goal, failing to score in 10 of their 25 league games and finding the net 30 times.
Of the 344 shots they have had, 107 have been on target but their 30-goal yield leaves them with a conversion rate of 8.7, worse only than Leicester City and Southampton.
That makes them the second biggest underperformers relative to their xG, after Crystal Palace.
Manchester United's European campaign has provided some respite from their dire league effort, with Amorim's unbeaten side facing Tottenham in the Europa League final on 21 May.
If they win that they will be granted a place in next year's Champions League.
But following defeat by West Ham, Amorim himself indicated concern over how they would fare in Europe's top competition, given their abject form and the increased calibre of opposition.
"I don't know what is best, if it's playing in the Champions League or not," he said.
In their past seven matches United have earned two points which, had the league started seven games ago, would leave them inside the drop zone with Southampton and Ipswich.
And things are unlikely to get better any time soon.
Even if United were to win their final two matches - against Chelsea and Aston Villa - they can finish no higher than 13th. That's five places worse off than their previous lowest finish in the Premier League - eighth in 2023-24.
Their lowest-ever points tally for a Premier League campaign is 58 in 2021-22. United are now guaranteed to reduce that record by at least 13 points.
A European trophy would certainly give the fans something to cheer about but ultimately Amorim has been unable to turn the tide on United's league campaign this season and whether he is the man for the job remains up for debate.
