Ruben Amorim's Manchester United suffered their ninth defeat of the Premier League season on Monday night as their miserable campaign showed no signs of improving.
The 2-0 defeat to Newcastle was the Red Devils' fifth in eight league games under the Portuguese manager and surprisingly left the team sweating over their future status as a top-flight club.
United are just seven points clear of the relegation zone. Any faint hope of a Champions League or European qualification that might have accompanied Amorim's appointment has been replaced by the cold reality of his situation.
The problems on and off the field long predate the 39-year-old's arrival at Old Trafford; Indeed, the blame for their current situation lies somewhere between former boss Erik ten Hag, the club's minority owners Ineos and their boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
But now, tied up in this terrible mess, Amorim is increasingly tainted by the putrid stench that has clung to every manager who has come to the club since Sir Alex Ferguson.
Only, under the command of the former Sporting boss, things are worse. United have not liked their 3-4-3 system, which has seen Amorim get off to the worst start of any Red Devils manager in over a century – 103 years to be precise. Unfortunately for him, there are even more statistics that highlight the team's regression since his arrival last month.
Rubén Amorim has had the worst start of any Manchester United manager in the last 103 years
The Red Devils suffered this Monday their fifth defeat in the Premier League in eight games under the command of the Portuguese coach
The end-of-year defeat to Newcastle was the icing on a grotesque cake for Manchester United. The defeat saw the club accumulate its fewest points in a calendar year since 1989 (51), while suffering three home defeats for the first time since 1979.
United's six defeats in December is the most the club has suffered in a month since September 1930 and they conceded 18 goals, a tie for the most allowed since March 1964.
'It's my fault too. I think the team is not improving,” Amorim admitted after the humiliation against the Magpies. 'It's a bit lost at the moment.
'It's a bit embarrassing to be Manchester United manager and lose a lot of games. But we have to face difficult times in everyone's lives.'
In a sport with so few goals, results can often be misleading in soccer. What will really worry Amorim are the underlying numbers that accompany his team's worrying form.
In the eight league games he has managed, United are among the worst teams in the division in a number of key metrics. These include goals, shot conversion, shots on goal, clean sheets, goals conceded, and errors leading to goals, to name a few.
The nine goals the team has scored under Amorim are the fourth-worst in the top flight since November 22. Additionally, United's shot conversion rate of 9.18 percent places them in 14th place.
The same goes for their shots on goal (32), while their lone clean sheet is the second-worst in the league. Furthermore, United have made four errors that resulted in goals, and only two teams have a lower record.
United conceded 18 goals in December, the most they have allowed in a single month since March 1964
Only four teams in the division have scored less than Manchester United's nine since Amorim's appointment
Amorim took responsibility for United's miserable run and admitted their new system is proving difficult for some players to master.
If the Premier League had started when Amorim began this huge undertaking, the Red Devils would be in 17th place with seven points from eight games. Their position outside the relegation zone would only be achieved with a superior goal record over newly promoted Ipswich.
But even in this reality, somehow, relegation is a real threat for the 20-time top-flight champions halfway through the campaign.
“That's very clear, that's why we have to fight,” Amorim said when asked about the possibility of falling into the relegation zone. “It's a really difficult time, one of the most difficult times in Manchester United's history and we have to approach it honestly.
'I am responsible. I don't like coming here and making excuses. I think people are tired of excuses in this club. I think our club needs a shock and we have to understand it. “It's a very difficult moment and we have to fight for the next game.”
Just as Amorim prophesied a storm upon his arrival, his final forecast may be equally prophetic. United will make the daunting trip to Anfield to face league leaders Liverpool in their next match on Sunday before an FA Cup third round tie against Arsenal in north London.
The surprise could come when they host Southampton at Old Trafford on January 16. A loss to the Saints, who have improved under new manager Ivan Juric, would really cause the previous generation of United fans to relive the torment of the 1973-74 season: United. last descent.
It could even lead to Amorim abandoning its favorite system, which may simply be too complicated for this current generation of players to understand.
“I have to sell my idea,” he added. 'If I change all the time it will be even worse. But I understand that they have many difficulties because they spent two years playing in one way. You can feel it, I can feel it. But I have to sell my idea, I have no other.
“When you change coaches, especially in these types of clubs, it's because they weren't winning. They play in the system they were bought for and they were losing.
'So, am I going to switch to that system? If I think about the players with the right profile for each position, it will be different. This team was already in trouble.”