Lisandro Martinez defies Ruben Amorim with claim made about Man United boss

Lisandro Martinez has directly contradicted Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim – but with good reason.

After United slumped to their 10th Premier League defeat of the season against Brighton earlier this month – a result that left them 13th in the table – Amorim described the team as "the worst team maybe" in the club's history. Later, he claimed he was "failing" his players, though Martinez's latest comments suggest otherwise.

Following his winning goal in the 1-0 victory Fulham on Sunday, the defender insisted that Amorim had given the squad confidence since arriving in November, and that their on-field cohesion was getting better. "I feel very confident. The coach gives us that confidence," Martinez told Telemundo Deportes.

"The connection we have... at the back, they [the players] know that if you are attacking, if you are in front, you know they are covering you. So when you already know and when you go back a little bit and your colleagues are there, covering, you go with more confidence."

Results under Amorim have left a lot to be desired, but performances have, generally-speaking, been on the up since Erik ten Hag's departure. United have beaten Manchester City and Arsenal – albeit on penalties – and drawn with Liverpool in the last month-and-a-half. And, after back-to-backs wins against Rangers and Fulham, they are finally starting to look up the tables domestically and in Europe rather than down.

Those results came as welcome relief for Amorim, who reportedly blew a gasket and broke a TV in the dressing room following United's 3-1 defeat to Brighton. He also appeared desperate in his post-match interview and spoke concerningly of the need to "survive".

"In 10 Premier League games we've won two," he fumed