Brennan Johnson netted the sole goal of the match just before the break in Bilbao on Wednesday, with a lackluster United failing to respond. This defeat adds another blow to a catastrophic season for the club, which is set to conclude in their worst league standing since their relegation in 1974.

United sits in 16th place with just one league match remaining against Aston Villa on Sunday. An emotional Amorim expressed to the media post-match that he remains steadfast in his approach despite a string of poor outcomes since succeeding the dismissed Erik ten Hag in November.

The ex-Sporting Lisbon manager, who has secured only six Premier League victories at United, stated his confidence in his ability to transform the situation at Old Trafford but is willing to depart if he is deemed unwanted. “If the board and the fans think I’m not the right person, I’ll leave the following day without any discussion about compensation,” he remarked.

“But I won’t resign. I have strong faith in my work. As you can see, I won’t alter my methods.” Amorim declined to speculate on the club’s future, emphasizing that United needed to “face the loss and the pain of this defeat.” “What I can say is that it’s evident we were the better side but failed to score again, which makes it extremely difficult to win matches, but the players gave their all to win,” he commented.

“In the future, we’ll have time to evaluate everything.” United was within reach of the Champions League spots when Amorim assumed the managerial role but now trails fifth-placed Chelsea by 27 points. The upcoming season will be their first without European competition since the 2014/15 campaign.

“We must acknowledge that it’s challenging for a club like ours to miss out on the Champions League,” said Amorim. “However, we must view it from another perspective. More time allows us to reflect, work more during the week, and improve in the Premier League. That’s where our attention will be.”