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Ruben Amorim said the Manchester United first team cannot shy away from their part in the problems being endured.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim (AP)
Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim believes his team’s faltering fortunes on the pitch are partly responsible for the job cuts which have swept through Old Trafford.
Co-owner Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos company came under fire for shedding around a quarter of United’s staff over the summer, with more redundancies planned as they seek to reduce losses that totalled £300 million over the last three years.
Ticket prices have also gone up and Amorim, whose team are languishing in 14th place in the Premier League, said the first team cannot shy away from their part in the problems being endured by the English giants.
“I think it’s really important for us in the first team, coaches and players, not to ignore that,” the United head coach said.
“People are losing their jobs, so we have to acknowledge that.
“And the biggest problem is the football team because we spend the money, we are not winning, we are not in Champions League, so the revenues are not the same.
“People are losing their jobs. Of course, that feeling of saving their job is hard to have that feeling and that affects the environment, so I think we cannot ignore.”
The Portuguese added: “We acknowledge that problem and I want to say that the responsible (people) is the first team.”
On Sunday, United travel to fellow strugglers Tottenham who are one place behind in 15th spot in the table.
When asked about former Manchester United players flourishing after leaving Old Trafford, Amorim said: “I don’t know, sometimes it is like that and it can happen in any club like that. This is a club with a lot of pressure. In this kind of club you have to have almost [have] like a base of a team to put in younger players that have come from abroad that come from a team with a strong base, that can help them with dealing with that pressure. In that moment, we do not have that and it is also really hard on them.”
“You feel it in [Patrick] Dorgu, he was a little bit nervous in the first moment, but if you are playing better as a team and you have a strong core, that can [help] cope with this and [when] we are winning games and are strong in the games, like it was supposed to be at this kind of club, it will be more easy for this kind of players to be free and play their football. Football is like that and when you reach that level, you have to cope with pressure and sometimes they go to other clubs and they are free without the pressure and they play better. I don’t know,” he added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
