'If we don't score, nothing matters' - 'damaged' Hojlund 'not ready'

Ruben Amorim made his point with his very first answer after watching Manchester United's worst ever Premier League season hit a new low.

"If we don't score goals nothing matters, because in the end it is the result that counts," said the Portuguese, whose downbeat mood could not have been a bigger contrast to the elated and enthused figure he cut in the same room after Thursday's nine-goal Europa League epic with Lyon.

United's latest setback against Wolves was the ninth time in 22 league games since Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag in November they have failed to score.

Of the remaining 13, they have scored two or more on seven occasions. Remarkably, two of them were at Manchester City and Liverpool.

They have led for just a total of 218 minutes – discounting injury-time – during Amorim's time in charge.

With Joshua Zirkzee out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, Denmark international Rasmus Hojlund, a £72m signing from Atalanta in 2023, is United's only senior fit striker. Yet he has scored just twice in the Premier League since his new boss arrived from Sporting in November.

Former England striker Alan Shearer told Match of the Day 2: "I am looking at a damaged player in Hojlund. He wasn't ready and isn't ready to lead the attack at a club like Man Utd.

"I am seeing a guy who doesn't want to get in there. There is no doubt a crisis in confidence. He has been put into a really difficult situation.

"He is not at the stage of his career to lead the line. I'm not saying there is not a good player there, I think there is, but with the pressure there is, he is not ready to lead the line yet."

The nearest the 22-year-old came on this occasion – a day when United managed just two shots on target - was failing by inches to connect with a low Alejandro Garnacho cross at the far post, when a touch would surely have diverted the ball in given he was less than a yard out.

Aside from that, it was the usual mixture of industry and physical will from Hojlund.

The argument is he just needs a goal to restore confidence and get him firing again. The truth is, aside from a run of five goals in four games early in Amorim's reign and eight in eight games in the middle of last season, Hojlund has been unconvincing as someone capable of leading the line or making a big impact in a top Premier League team.

He simply doesn't compare to Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka or even, this season at any rate, Chris Wood at Nottingham Forest.

Amorim cannot offer an unfiltered opinion on Hojlund. All he can do is vow to keep working with him as dropping the Dane is not part of the plan.

"The only way I know is to work on him and show him the videos," added the United boss. "He needs to score a goal and he won't score if he is out [of the team] so I try to manage that during games."

Amorim emphasised the point Hojlund alone should not shoulder either the responsibility or the blame for United's goalscoring woes.

Aside from the bottom three, only Everton and West Ham have scored fewer than their 38 this season.

"If you look at the games we have several players that miss big chances, not just Rasmus," said Amorim. "Of course, for Rasmus, the game is to score goals because he's a striker, but it's a team thing. Our team should score more goals, it's not just Rasmus missing chances."

United have now lost eight Premier League home games this season, their most defeats at Old Trafford in a league campaign since 1962-63. They still have two more chances – against West Ham and Aston Villa - to suffer a ninth and equal the return from six decades ago.

With a 15th league loss of the campaign – a club record in the Premier League era - Amorim has no option other than to try to eke out any positives from the woeful experience he is going through.

Against Wolves, that centred on the performances of 20-year-old centre-back Tyler Fredricson, who had a solid first-team debut, and Harry Amass. The 18-year-old wing-back impressed once to raise further questions over why he was omitted at the start of the campaign when United were desperate for a left-footed player in defence.

Amorim knows United's season hinges on their Europa League campaign.

He must find a way of ensuring victory over Athletic Bilbao in the semi-final and then against either Tottenham or Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt to take some comfort from a torrid period, where it is hard even for him to tell fans everything will be OK in the end.

"We tell the fans the truth that we lack a lot of things in our team, that we miss chances, and that if we don't score goals we are not going to win," said Amorim, when asked about his message to supporters.

"We have a lot to do and to focus on improving the team step by step. Understanding that until the end of the league it's going to be like this and then we need to do something.

"Of course we have a plan and we talk about that every day, but the season is not over so let's focus on that."

Amorim's situation was made worse by Wolves' league double over them - which sealed their Premier League status - and because their Portuguese manager hire, Vitor Pereira, has had a seismic impact at Molineux in the way United have not experienced.

It was quite instructive, long after Amorim had departed the scene, to listen to Pereira explaining how he had lifted the club clear of relegation trouble following his December arrival.

"The most important thing is to create a connection with the people," he said. "That was my first target. I wanted to bring energy, confidence and trust when I look to the players to help me.

"Through spirit and in our time together, we speak about our lives and create a connection with the supporters to make them believe.

"I went through our tactical idea and principles from the first day we worked together. The players know I like good football, my team playing with the ball. Sometimes it is not possible but then we need to know how to defend. Today we had a record number of free-kicks and corners against us, but in the end they didn't score."

It all comes down to scoring in the end. Until Amorim finds an answer to that, United are going nowhere.