Ruben Amorim on flying to the UK for talks with West Ham:
“The first thing to say is that the club knew about my trip, that’s the first thing, because it’s important and changes the context.”
“The second thing to talk about is this ‘veil of secrecy’ around the trip. I ‘secretly’ parked my car outside, ‘secretly’ walked past 15 people, spoke with the people, took photos with people and got on a plane. It’s important to take away this idea that it was all done behind the club’s back, that didn’t happen. And now the most important point, that obviously it was a mistake.”
“The trip, the timing was completely wrong. I didn’t think so at the time but it was wrong, especially when I’m so demanding of my players, and I’m always the first to say that the problems of individuals can’t take over the team, and I’ve taken players out of the team for much less.
“It was my fault, I have to accept that and live with it. I didn’t think it was so bad at the time but thinking back on it it’s very clear. I’ve explained this