Leicester’s bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League hit a historic low, while Manchester United’s manager has made a sobering concession.
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‘HUGE STEP BACK’ FOR FOXES IN HISTORIC LOW
Leicester’s bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League hit a historic low as Brentford cruised to a 4-0 win at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side would have moved out of the relegation zone with a victory, but instead they remain two points from safety.
Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo and Christian Norgaard all scored for Brentford in a wretched first half for second-bottom Leicester.
Fabio Carvalho netted in the closing stages and the Foxes were booed off after a 10th defeat in their last 11 league games that added to the pressure on the under-fire Van Nistelrooy.
Underlining the depth of their struggles, Leicester made unwanted history as the first ever team in the English top-flight to lose six successive home games without scoring in any of them.
“You have to acknowledge it’s a huge step back. There was hope after recent performances, the beginning of the game was hopeful with three chances,” Van Nistelrooy said.
“After the bright start we were never in the game again and at half-time the game was done. Everyone is going home gutted with the loss and disappointed with the levels we showed.” With just 12 games left to avoid relegation, Leicester are in severe danger of an immediate return to the Championship.
Enzo Maresca quit to take charge of Chelsea after masterminding Leicester’s promotion last season and the club’s Thai owners have failed to find an adequate replacement for the Italian.
Steve Cooper was sacked after just five months in charge and former Manchester United striker Van Nistelrooy has fared no better.
Leicester have won just four of their 26 league games this season, with Van Nistelrooy contributing only two of those victories in 15 matches.
MOYES ‘DOING A BETTER JOB’ THAN UNITED BOSS
Ruben Amorim admits David Moyes is doing a better job reviving Everton than the under-fire Manchester United boss has been able to achieve in his short spell at Old Trafford.
Amorim will go head-to-head with Everton boss Moyes on Sunday as he looks to drag United out of their shocking decline.
The former Sporting Lisbon boss has overseen just four wins and eight defeats in the Premier League since replacing Erik ten Hag in November.
Moyes, who was sacked by United in 2014 after less than a season in charge, has already matched Amorim’s win total in just six league games since returning to Everton in January.
Everton, in 14th place, are above 15th-placed United in the table ahead of the clubs’ final ever meeting at Goodison Park before the Toffees move to a new stadium next season.
Asked why Everton improved their fortunes with a new boss unlike United, Amorim said: “Simple thing. David Moyes is doing a better job than me. It’s quite simple.
“And then small things like winning one game, winning two games, that belief. The pressure is also not the same.
“I don’t know but I think we have to give merit to the players of Everton and especially to the coach of Everton and that’s all. We need to do the same.” It was a candid admission from Amorim, who has previously acknowledged that Ten Hag and United interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, now in charge at Leicester, did better than him at Old Trafford this season.
Moyes was sacked by United after just 10 months in charge following a 2-0 loss at Everton and a defeat this weekend would increase the pressure on Amorim, whose approach has reportedly left some players unconvinced.
“I don’t feel it in training,” Amorim said. “If you watch our games sometimes you can have that sensation, but I’m not worried about that.
“If they are not convinced, I don’t feel that. It’s my job to change their minds and I’m quite good on that.” Amorim insists he has no regrets taking a job he had initially preferred to wait for until the summer, allowing him to finish the campaign with Sporting and start afresh.
“I think that is clear, it’s common sense, when you start a season it’s completely different,” he said.
“You have time to think things, to feel the players, to have pre-season, to change things that you feel are necessary in a team, in a squad. That is clear.
“That was the choice, so I don’t want to talk like that. I had my reasons to ask for that and I have the most important reasons to accept the job.
“I knew it will be tough and the risk. I know that but it’s Manchester United and you cannot say no.” Asked if he ever questioned whether it was the right decision to join United, he said: “No. We make a decision and then we go all the way. Of course, sometimes it’s really frustrating.”
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