Lack of success a key factor in Man Utd s financial troubles says Amorim

LONDON – Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim believes avoiding the kind of expensive mistakes the club has made in the transfer market is the key to halting the English giants’ decline.

The Portuguese coach has been unable to turn around the Red Devils’ miserable season since taking charge in November, with the team sitting 15th in the Premier League before their home clash with Ipswich Town on Feb 26.

That match kicked off after press time but even if they win, they would move up just one spot to 14th.

United have been performing poorly despite spending over £600 million (S$1.01 billion) in just over two years on new players under Amorim’s predecessor Erik ten Hag.

The new manager, meanwhile, had limited funds to work with in the January transfer window. Danish defender Patrick Dorgu was his only major signing as budgets have been slashed across the board.

The club announced on Feb 24 that they expect up to 200 fresh redundancies as part of a “transformation plan” to improve stability.

Amorim admitted that those losing their jobs had paid the price for the club’s lack of on-field success in recent years and put poor recruitment at the heart of the problem.

“It’s easy for me to be here and say all the pretty stuff – we have to improve,” he said.

“The recruitment I think is crucial, we need to improve the team. We need to perform better, we need to be in Europe and not in our position during the season.”

However, the former Sporting Lisbon boss conceded that actions speak louder than words and he has to convince both supporters and colleagues that he can turn United’s fortunes around.

“They are paying the price for our lack of success and I cannot say anything now that is