Ruben Amorim has said Man Utd’s players don’t feel the pressure of the hundreds of redundancies affecting off-field staff – and suggested they face “bigger” issues playing for the club.
Some 250 roles were removed last year with more big cuts are the way as the club hierarchy, led by part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, look to return the club to profitability.
Man Utd 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 what effect the negative news around off-field roles being removed had on his players, Amorim said: “I’m not saying it as a bad thing, but the players don’t feel it too much. They have one life, they live in a bubble. It’s completely different for them than it is for me and for everybody in the club. They are not feeling that pressure.
“They feel the pressure that they need to win at Manchester United. And if we lose, and every time we don’t perform, there are a lot of people in social media and in the newspapers that are putting a lot of pressure on them.
“And then they go to training and try to fix things on the pitch not in a good way, thinking too much and not playing the way they’re supposed to play.
“So in that department, they don’t feel the pressure of people losing their jobs. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, they are young kids living in a different world.
“But they suffer a different pressure, and sometimes it’s harder – people talking about them all the time – all their friends, social media, former players and they take it so personally. And sometimes it’s hard for them to turn things around.”
Amorim: Announcement emphasises our need to improve
Asked if Monday’s announcement stressed the need to improve matters at Old Trafford 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.
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.
When asked whether the announcement would make it even harder for his side to win games, Amorim added: “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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
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.