Better recruitment is crucial for Man Utd to turn corner – Ruben Amorim

Ruben Amorim admits better recruitment will be key to Manchester United’s hopes of improved fortunes on and off the pitch.

The Red Devils host Ipswich on Wednesday bidding to end a three-match winless run in the Premier League, the latest difficult moment in Amorim’s troubled start to life at Old Trafford.

On Monday, United announced they expect to make up to 200 more employees redundant as part of cost-saving measures partly necessitated by a lack of footballing success.

The club have spent huge amounts of money in recent transfer windows but too many of their new recruits have failed to hit the heights expected of them, and Amorim accepted words will do nothing to reassure fans or colleagues that better times are ahead.

“I think we need to show (it),” he said. “It’s easy for me to be here and say all the pretty stuff – we have to improve.

“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.”

Of the employees facing redundancy, Amorim added: “They are paying the price for our lack of success and I cannot say anything now that is going to convince the fans and all the staff that we are going to do it.

“We have an idea. For me as a coach, we need to be a better team and to recruit better and don’t make a lot of mistakes in that department.”

The Portuguese boss admitted he feels some responsibility for the financial situation, but he believes the pressure the players experience is limited to matters on the pitch.

“They have one life, they live in the bubble, it’s completely different for them than it is for me,” said Amorim.

“They are not feeling that pressure. They feel the pressure that they need to win in