Amorim after his eye-catching claim about Man United: 'I won’t promise I won’t do it again'

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Ruben Amorim has acknowledged he might have made a mistake when he went public in describing his team as “the worst, maybe, in the history of Manchester United.”

Just don’t expect him to hold back his opinions going forward.

“If you want, I can be delusional and say different things,” Amorim said Wednesday at his first news conference since his remark that captured headlines and widespread attention.

“I say it as I saw it. I said it to the players and I said to you,” he told reporters. “I think it’s a good thing to be honest. If you want me to say different things — you saw one thing, I saw one thing — I can start to do that. It’s easier for me. But what I’m seeing, they know. If you are in the stadium, you can understand. Let’s face it and work on it.”

Amorim’s eye-catching comment about United's current plight came after a 3-1 home loss to Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday.

It was a fourth loss in United’s last five home games in the league, and a seventh defeat in 15 games in all competitions since Amorim took charge in November as the replacement for Erik ten Hag.

United, the record 20-time English champion, is 13th in the 20-team Premier League and closer to the relegation zone than the European qualification spots after 22 of 38 games.

Amorim denied that he was shifting blame toward his players. The 39-year-old Portuguese coach said: “I am (most) responsible for the performances and the results.

“I am a young guy and sometimes I make a mistake. This time I needed to talk. Maybe it was a mistake and I get more nervous and go to the (media) conference really nervous, and then you say things you shouldn’t say … I won’t promise I won’t do it again but I will try to improve.”

Amorim was speaking ahead of United’s Europa League game against Scottish rival Rangers at Old Trafford on Thursday. He said his players were “more nervous” and “anxious” playing at home and that was making it harder for the team to pick up results.

“If you have a little inexperience when you fall into this type of context, it’s hard to go up — especially when you are in a massive club,” Amorim said.

“That was my only point in saying it after that loss. The way I do it? Maybe not but it is what it is. I am like that all the time.”

United is in seventh place in the 36-team standings of the revamped Europa League after three wins and three draws from its first six games. Each team has eight matches and the top eight finishers qualify for the last 16, without the need to go through a two-legged playoff.

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Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim gestures during a training session in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, ahead of the Europa League soccer match between Manchester United and Rangers FC. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Manchester United's head coach Ruben Amorim follows the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion, at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's head coach Ruben Amorim follows the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion, at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim gestures during a press conference in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, ahead of the Europa League soccer match between Manchester United and Rangers FC. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)