Ruben Amorim insists many of his Manchester United players are not impacted by club’s drastic job cuts as they exist in a “bubble”. The Red Devils are poised to axe up to 200 positions, adding to the 250 roles slashed last year, in a bid to mitigate £300million losses accrued over the past three years.
With Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s stringent cost-cutting strategy, nearly one-third of United’s workforce is set to be dismissed. Although Amorim expressed empathy for those at risk of redundancy, he conceded that his squad, especially the younger members, are detached from the harsh realities of the situation.
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but the players don’t feel it too much, because they have one life, they live in a bubble,” Amorim said. “It’s completely different for them than it is for me and for everybody in the club. They’re not feeling that pressure.”
“They feel the pressure that they need to win at Manchester United and every time we lose and every time they don’t perform, there are a lot of people on social media and in the newspapers who are putting on a lot of pressure.”
“Then they go to the pitch and try to fix things, but not in a good way – thinking too much, not playing the way they’re supposed to play.
“But they don’t feel the pressure of people losing their jobs. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing – they are young kids who live in a different world – but they suffer a different pressure and sometimes it’s harder.
“The other people are talking about them all the time – their friends, social media, former players and they take it so personally that sometimes it’s really hard for them to turn things around.
“I have empathy for everybody, but it’s easy to feel empathy with all the situations that have occurred. The second feeling is that I need to improve my job.
“You want to improve, to help everybody through these transitional moments. I’m trying all the time to feel positive because I’m the manager and I know the staff are always looking at me.”
United, currently 15th in the Premier League, host 18th placed Ipswich tonight, with Amorim denying his players feel extra pressure playing at home.
Amorim has lost five of his last six home league games, but said: “Since I arrived, I expected to win all the games at home. The supporters are amazing and every time at Old Trafford, you feel the support. I don’t feel the pressure, but we just have to think about the games. It’s a new game and it can be a new story.”
This article originally appeared on the Mirror
