Manchester United were booed after their Asian tour began with a defeat in Malaysia, but manager Ruben Amorim welcomed the reaction and believes it may have been “necessary” for the players.
A week after their Europa League final defeat to Tottenham, the Red Devils embarked on a lucrative £8million tour of Kuala Lumpur.
Amorim made many changes to their line-up during the friendly that ended in a shock 1-0 defeat to ASEAN All-Stars, with Maung Maung Lwin's second-half strike proving decisive in the Maybank Challenge Cup on Wednesday.
Some of the 72,000-plus crowd at Bukit Jalil Stadium expressed their disappointment at United's performance with jeers after the final whistle, which Amorim said could be a wake-up call given the contrast with Old Trafford.
“I always feel guilty,” the United manager said. “I mentioned it in the last game.
“I always take responsibility for the team’s performance, regardless of the situation, and from the moment I’m here, I consider myself guilty.
“Then the fans started screaming. I think that's what we need, maybe because every game we've lost in the Premier League they've always been there for us.”
“So that's part of the game. If they see something isn't working, they'll change their attitude.
“But I felt like when we finished and left, like always, the fans were with us. Let's wait until next season.”
United's performance in Kuala Lumpur was a disappointment and came just three days after Amorim told fans “better days are ahead” by ending a “disastrous season” with a 2-0 home win over Aston Villa.
“We need to be more confident,” the Portuguese said ahead of flying to Hong Kong for another friendly on Friday.
“We were slow and still don't show the strength to win every training session, every game. But the most important thing is that we didn't have any injuries.
“Some players took risks but we wanted to show respect for all the fans and get all the players involved in the game and we have to win games like this.”
Amorim was happy to share his impressions of the friendly match, although he was reluctant to discuss the club's transfer issues, despite United receiving permission from Wolverhampton to sign striker Matheus Cunha.
“You'll have to wait until next season,” he said. “That's what you guys (in the media) need to talk about.
“Your time, I will not confirm anything. I have no news, so let's hope there will be some changes.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
