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MANCHESTER: Ruben Amorim admits he feels embarrassed by his poor start to life at Manchester United.

Amorim arrived from Sporting Lisbon in November as one of the highest potential young managers in European football, but won only five of his first 16 league games, losing eight times.

United will finish this season’s Premier League campaign with the worst record in the club’s history, currently 14th, but still have the support of the club’s supporters.

In an interview with United icon Rio Ferdinand, Amorim said: “I feel it (the fans’ confidence in him). At the same time, I feel embarrassed because if you look at the team’s performance on the pitch, it’s difficult for me as a coach to take positive aspects.”

Amorim emphasized that he saw positive signs during training sessions, but they were not able to translate on the pitch.

The Portuguese manager is aware of the issues his team face when playing at Old Trafford, but does not feel this is due to a lack of talent in his squad.

For him, United’s young players felt the roar on the pitch, and he could feel it before kick-off.

“I think we all feel the excitement in the game and it can be seen in the little things. The way we move, understanding the game, especially at Old Trafford.

“I can see it in the players when they are in the dressing room and when they go out on the pitch to warm up. Before the start of the game, the atmosphere is more tense. It will affect the game,” he said.

Amorim is determined to turn United’s fortunes around, but the players need to believe in the tactics he is trying to implement.

“The only way for me to help them is to provide solutions on the pitch, but they need to believe in it,” he added.

LONDON: Pep Guardiola insisted that Manchester City will regain control of the Premier League in the future after Erling Haaland secured a 1-0 victory at Tottenham.

Haaland’s 12th-minute goal lifted City to fourth place in the league in their bid to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

The race for fourth place has been fierce for City this season after winning four consecutive league titles – six in total for Guardiola in seven seasons at the Etihad.

Liverpool are now closing in on the title, but City – who lost 2-0 to the leaders on Sunday – have fallen out of contention in recent months and are 20 points behind the Reds.

With City also eliminated from the Champions League after losing to Real Madrid in the play-offs, Guardiola now only has the FA Cup to make up for this season’s disappointment.

However, in the long term, the Spanish manager is confident that City can return to glory even though several of its key players are now old and the young players do not have enough experience playing in the English Premier League.

“The old City was too good, but we will come back,” Guardiola said.

Meanwhile, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said his team’s fiery spirit consumed them during the first half of the action at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs are currently 13th in the league but have the chance to end their 17-year trophy drought in the Europa League.

“In the first half we were too eager to get the ball up front. I think we missed a lot and when we faced City it allowed them to get into the rhythm.

“They can punish you at any time and we didn’t handle that part well. They scored and had a few chances to add to the score.

“In the second half I thought we dominated the game. We controlled the ball better and were more calm, but we failed to score,” said Postecoglou.

MADRID: Real Madrid are close to agreeing a contract extension for Vinicius Junior after talks began in January following interest from Saudi Arabia to buy the FIFA World Player of the Year in a record-breaking deal, sources said yesterday.

Although the Brazilian forward’s current contract expires at the end of the 2026-27 season, the Spanish champions contacted the player’s agent last month to begin new negotiations, thus curbing Saudi interest that had been ongoing for more than a year.

Sources close to Vinicius said that despite several calls from Saudi Arabia showing interest in a move to Al-Ahly, a formal contract offer was never discussed and Saudi confidence has waned in recent months.

Real denied being contacted by the Saudi club but a source close to the Madrid club said they were approached by officials from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) during the Spanish Super Cup in Jeddah earlier last month asking about Vinicius.

However, the European champions are not interested in negotiating a transfer, citing a €1 billion buyout clause as the only scenario they would allow the Brazilian to leave Madrid.

“I don’t know anything, nobody has spoken to me about it (the Saudi offer),” Vinicius told TNT Sports after Real’s 3-2 win at Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League play-off on Tuesday.

“They need to talk to the (Real) president. I hope I can stay here for a little longer,” the player said after the match.

“It’s always exciting to be able to negotiate with Real Madrid about a contract renewal. I have a contract until 2027, but I always talk about my passion to play here for longer to be able to make history here.”

Real announced Vinicius’ final contract extension in October 2023, a four-year deal reportedly worth 13.5 million euros in terms of annual salary.

He opted for a shorter, incentive-based deal, compared to the five- to six-year contracts that most Real players typically sign.

LONDON: Arsenal’s bid to win the Premier League (EPL) may face a tortuous path after Kai Havertz was reportedly forced to miss the rest of the season.

The German striker suffered the injury during a training camp in Dubai and is scheduled to undergo a more detailed examination once the club returns to England.

Media reports suggest the 25-year-old has suffered a hamstring injury and could miss the rest of the season.

Arsenal, however, has yet to comment further on the extent of Havertz’s injury.

The potential for being sidelined for an extended period of time seems to be a blow to manager Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s attempts to strengthen their attacking line-up during the January transfer window came to a standstill.

The club failed in their attempt to sign Ollie Watkins from EPL rivals Aston Villa.

Arsenal have already lost several key players including Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.

The Gunners currently only have three striker options, namely Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri.

Arsenal are currently second in the league, six points behind leaders Liverpool who still have a game in hand.

LONDON: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insists there is no disagreement with his old friend Pep Guardiola ahead of a crucial clash against Manchester City this weekend.

Previously, City players accused Arsenal of using dirty tactics in a tense match that ended in a 2-2 draw last September.

In the match, City midfielder Rodri suffered a serious knee injury while Arsenal were forced to play with 10 men after Leandro Trossard was sent off.

The match also saw a tense incident in which City striker Erling Haaland sparked controversy by throwing the ball at Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes after a late equaliser by John Stones.

Arteta, who was Guardiola’s assistant at City before taking over at Arsenal in 2019, denied their relationship had suffered.

“I was there for four years. I know how competitive they are. They win and win, that’s what I mean,” he said at a media conference today.

Commenting further on speculation of a strained relationship between them, Arteta said: “If there was a problem, we wouldn’t be on the phone or texting. But that’s what happened, so there’s no issue.”

Guardiola has previously dismissed claims of a strained relationship, describing his friendship with Arteta as “extraordinary.”

This Sunday’s match is important for both teams in the English Premier League.

Arsenal, who are currently in second place, are six points behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

City, meanwhile, are in fourth place and are looking to close the gap in points in their bid to defend the league title.