In the immediate aftermath of the loss at Blundell Park, the Portuguese mentor said "something has to change" to suggest that he might considering his future at the club.

The 40-year-old faced the media ahead of United's Premier clash against Burnley at Old Trafford on Saturday, and said the cup defeat was hard to take.

He told reporters: "To be really honest, every time that we have a defeat like that in the future I'm going to be like that. I'm going to say sometimes I hate my players and sometimes I love my players.

"Sometimes I want to quit, sometimes I want to be here for 20 years. I need to improve on that, it's going to be hard but now I'm focused on the next game."

Amorim accepted that such pointed statements are bound to invite debate about his future and bring uncertainty as United struggle to find consistency under his watch.

He is is understood to retain the support of United's ownership, who backed him in the transfer window, with the club spending big on to bring Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbuemo and Benjamin Sesko to the club.

Amorim added: "I felt we had a very good pre-season, we were playing better, we were being consistent in the way we played.

"We played badly for 30 minutes against Fulham and that kind of performance (against Grimsby) I was really disappointed with everything, but now it's a new game and we focus on that."

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