Ruben Amorim has admitted that the Manchester United staff who are set to lose their jobs in the latest round of cut-backs are paying the price for the team's lack of success on the pitch.
United announced on Monday that potentially another 200 employees could be made redundant. The job losses are on top of the 250 members of staff who lost their jobs last summer.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Amorim admitted the cuts are a direct result of the relative lack of success of the men's first team. United have lost more than £300m over the last three years and are 15th in the Premier League ahead of the fixture against Ipswich Town on Wednesday.
"We have to address all the problems in the club but one important piece of this moment is to understand how we get to this situation," Amorim said. "It has a lot to do with the lack of success of the football team because we are the engine of any football club.
"I just want to help the club in my department which is to improve the team and improve the players."
Sources have told ESPN that the morale within the club since Sir Jim Ratcliffe's arrival as co-owner a year ago has nosedived as a result of the wide-ranging cost-cutting measures. On the pitch, the team are struggling and have one just one of their last four games. Amorim's record since taking over as manager in November stands at nine defeats in 22 games.
"It is always hard, for everybody," Amorim said. "They see the friends, and teammates losing their jobs but we have to focus on what I can do to help the club in this moment.
"We know this year was really hard for everybody. We did as a club a lot of changes and then when you are doing the changes if you have a football team who are playing well and are winning games, it is easier for the fans and everyone. But in this moment we are in a difficult period inside of the club and inside of the pitch so we have to fight against this feeling and we have to do our job and we try our best to help the team to perform better."
Ipswich head to Old Trafford on a run of five defeats in their last six league games, including the heavy 4-1 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. The game against Kieran McKenna's side should give Amorim the chance to improve on his record of just two league wins in seven at home.
"Since I arrived, when I took the job, I expect to win all the games at home," he said. "The supporters are amazing and you don't feel it [the extra pressure]. Every time you go to one game at Old Trafford, you feel the support. I don't feel the pressure and we have to think about the games. It is a new game, it can be a new story."