RUBEN AMORIM admitted Manchester United are nowhere near where they should be after their fourth Premier League defeat of the season.
Ten-man Everton secured their first victory at Old Trafford since December 2013 as manager David Moyes celebrated his first league victory in the away dugout at the stadium at the 18th attempt.
United blew the chance to move into the top five for the third match running, having drawn their previous fixtures away to Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.
Amorim all but admitted United’s brief unbeaten run of five games was a false dawn.
“I know which point we are in the moment,” Amorim said. “I have that feeling during this run.
“I always talk about that. We are not there, not even near the point that we should be to fight for the best positions in the league.
“We have a lot to do and we need to be perfect to win games. We were not perfect today.
“Again, these five weeks everyone is praising our evolution. I’m always saying the same things.
“We are not even near what the moment we’re supposed to be in this club.”
United’s performance was reminiscent of their woeful home form last season when they lost seven times at Old Trafford without scoring.
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With United now languishing in tenth, Amorim is concerned that the team could regress.
“I feel afraid of returning to this feeling of last season,” he added. “That is my biggest concern.
“We need to work together. We are going to work together.
Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye was sent off in the 13th minute for slapping team-mate Michael Keane yet United were toothless with the man advantage.
Amorim substituted full-back Noussair Mazraoui for Mason Mount at half-time and introduced Kobbie Mainoo in the second half but United failed to score for the third time in the league this term.
United were missing summer signings Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko while Joshua Zirkzee made his first start in 225 days.
“Of course, when you have more players with different characteristics, especially with Cunha or Ben, you have more options to score goals,” Amorim explained.
“Especially against low blocks where there is no space. But that is just an excuse.
“We have players on the pitch. And we could lose the game, but with a different intensity, the understanding of the moment when the other team fight each other and get the red card.
“And I think we didn’t understand the moments of the game during the 90 minutes. That is my fault.
“I need to be better to explain to the players how to play in every situation of the game.
“Again, I think they start the game with a different intensity and that was really hard for us.”
