LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Manchester United ( MANU ) manager Ruben Amorim found himself apologising to the club's fans once again on Saturday after saying his side played exactly the way Brentford wanted them to in a 3-1 defeat.

United are now eight games without a win on the road in the Premier League and any optimism from last week's win over Chelsea has quickly evaporated, leaving the Portuguese again answering questions about his future.

Brentford were far too sharp for United as they took a two-goal lead in the opening 20 minutes with a brace from Igor Thiago and though Benjamin Sesko halved the deficit with his first United goal, Bruno Fernandes' failure to equalise from the penalty spot ultimately proved costly.

"I think we played the game they wanted us to play, the opponents - really confused: first balls, second balls. If we play the game of the opponent, it's harder for us," Amorim said.

'WHEN WE LOSE, WE SAY SORRY'

"We never settled the game down. We suffered two goals where we knew they are really strong on that, with the long balls. Then we tried to get back in the game.

"We miss a penalty, and all these moments are a little bit against us. That could change the game, but in the end, we need to - and we should - be better."

A consistent failing of United under Amorim has been their failure to impose their game on opponents and that was their undoing again at Brentford as they produced a fitful display.

"In the last game (against Chelsea) we had (control), especially in the beginning of the game," he said.

"Today, my biggest concern is the way we didn't settle down the game, to control the game, to play our game."

Worryingly for Amorim, he seems no closer to solving United's woes than he was when he took charge last November.

His record in the Premier League now stands at nine wins, 17 defeats and seven draws from his 33 games.

"When we lose, we say sorry to them, but they don't want to hear nothing," he said when asked what his message was to the fans.

Matheus Cunha, still looking for his first goal since joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers for what a team source said was around 62 million pounds ($83 million), said the solution was simple.

"Improve, improve, improve - this is the word," he said.

United will try to bounce back at home to Sunderland next weekend. ($1 = 0.7463 pounds)