'They live in a bubble' - what Manchester United players make of job cuts

Ruben Amorim admits some Manchester United players are taking criticism of their form "personally" and that the squad is living in a "bubble" amid more redundancies at the club.

United are 15th in the Premier League and could record their worst finish in the top flight since they were relegated in 1974, having taken only 15 points from Amorim's 15 league games in charge.

The club informed staff on Monday that up to 200 employees would be laid off as part of a second round of job cuts after United lost £300million in the past three years. United slashed their workforce by nearly a quarter last year when 250 employees were made redundant.

Amorim expressed empathy for colleagues whose roles will be placed at risk but stressed the players are so overwhelmed by the pressure of performing for United that they are insulated from the low morale that is rife among club staff.

Some current United players consoled staff who left in the summer. "I’m not saying it’s a bad thing but the players don’t feel it too much, they have one life, they live in a bubble," he said. "It’s completely different for them than it is for me, for Andrew (Ward, the press officer), for everybody in the club. They are 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 newspaper they are putting on a lot of pressure.

"Then they go to the pitch and try to fix things not in a good way - thinking too much, not playing the way they’re supposed to play. So they don’t feel that pressure of people losing their job. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing - they are young kids that live in a different world - but they