Ruben Amorim has hinted that some of his Manchester United players are still struggling to escape the scars of last season as they go in search of back-to-back Premier League wins at Brentford.
United are yet to win consecutive league games under Amorim.
They have the chance to change the unwanted run when they visit the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday following last weekend’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea.
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Another win would be a welcome step forward for Amorim and his players.
And the Portuguese coach has admitted finally winning back-to-back games would help his squad begin to get over the trauma of last season when United lost nearly half their league games and finished 15th.
“I think if we start winning it is not [a question of] 10 wins in a row,” said Amorim.
“I am talking about the second one, then the third one. The feeling will change and again that is something about the environment that we are living for a while.
“If you look at Bryan [Mbeumo] in that moment when we are struggling you feel a different guy compared to the rest of the team.
“You have to understand that some of the guys are here for a while and that feeling is still here and for that [to change] we need to win games.”
United impressed in spells against Chelsea last weekend and were also praised for their performance against Arsenal on the opening day of the season.
Last season, they beat Manchester City and Arsenal and drew with Liverpool at Anfield.
It’s against the so-called smaller teams that United have struggled most and Amorim has called on his players to treat Brentford as if they were another of the Premier League’s top six.
“The important thing is to do the maximum and to face that game like we faced Liverpool last year because we were struggling, or the way we started the season against Arsenal,” he said.
“We were really excited to start the season. We should have that feeling all the time.
“I think if we as a team, if we don’t understand the momentum now, we have a big problem.
“We need to understand the momentum of the club and the opportunity that we have to win the next game. So it’s on us and the responsibility is on us.”