Ruben Amorim says Manchester United’s latest redundancy announcement has “a lot to do with the lack of success of the football team” and has urged his club to learn from their past mistakes.
After 250 roles were removed last year, more big cuts are on the way, as the hierarchy, led by part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, look to return the club to profitability.
The club announced on Monday that they could make up to a further 200 workers redundant, as they step up their restructuring of the corporate side of United in a bid to save money.
Asked if the announcement stresses the need to improve quickly on the pitch, Amorim replied: “That is clear. We have to address all the problems in the club, but one important piece of this moment is to understand we get to this situation.
“It has a lot to do with the lack of success with the football team. We are the engine of any football club. I just want to help the club in my department, to improve the team, to improve the players, to have success.
Asked about the mood of the club, especially with the prospect of seeing people everyday who could lose their jobs, the United boss added: “It’s always hard for everybody. They see the friends and the team-mates, as you say, losing their jobs.
“But we have to focus. And we as a club have to realise what we did wrong to get to this situation. We need to think of solutions in this moment.”
United host Ipswich with Amorim’s side sitting 15th in the Premier League table and on a run of one Premier League win in their last five matches.
Should Amorim’s side suffer another defeat on Wednesday night, then the club would sit 10 points above the relegation zone.
Asked if the Monday announcement makes it harder to win matches, Amorim said: “It’s hard enough!
“This year was like really hard for everybody. We did – as a club – a lot of changes. Then when you are doing changes, if you have a football team who is playing well and winning games, it’s easier for the fans and everybody to feel that changes.
“In this moment, we are in a difficult moment inside of the club and the pitch, so we have to fight against this feeling and do our job, try our best in this moment to help the team perform better.”
Analysis: Man Utd’s squad value drops by 15 per cent
In and among the news of the redundancies at United, the value of the club’s first-team squad has dropped by 15 per cent since Amorim took charge at Old Trafford in mid-November.
United’s squad value sat at £700m when the Portuguese coach took over from Erik ten Hag, but it has now fallen to £594m – the sixth-most valuable squad in this season’s top-flight.
The sharp reduction in value is the biggest negative change out of all the Premier League clubs in that time. Only eight of the 20 teams in England’s top-flight have seen their squad reduce in value this term.
United have also suffered the biggest depreciation in squad value since the start of the season, via a 27 per cent negative drop.
‘Man Utd’s redundancy plan is eroding togetherness’
Sky Sports News senior reporter Melissa Reddy:
You cannot be a healthy, successful football club without creating the conditions for people to buy into your idea and them wanting to embark on the journey together. You certainly can’t if there is animosity, apprehension, fear, and an absence of goodwill.
If there is no bond with the supporters, no sense of belonging or appreciation for staff, and a lack of understanding that what happens off the pitch will colour what happens on it, you will be married to a cycle of misery and failure.
Following news of up to 200 more redundancies and getting rid of free staff lunches, take a look at all the cost cuts Manchester United have made since the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
No-one would argue that Manchester United need to make more financially responsible decisions and their workforce was severely bloated in comparison to rivals. The cold way of implementing their ‘transformation plan,’ however, is eroding togetherness, leading to a situation with “morale at its lowest,” which as Ruben Amorim admitted “affects the environment.”
A loss of love, of pride, of experience. The £66 flat ticket rate for members, doing away with concessions, and the threat of price hikes will also see the loss of loyal fans that have still supported a team delivering a season of record lows.
It has been players, past and present, that have shown a caring touch and have tried to go out of their way, even financially, to cure some of the cost-cutting decisions.
You cannot be a healthy, successful football club if you continue to mask the fact that the greatest problems have been the ownership of the Glazers, the interest cost of their leveraged buyout (over £1 billion), plus the ridiculously poor recruitment and general football decisions under their watch, which have continued thus far under INEOS.
