Ruben Amorim defends Sir Jim Ratcliffe after mass Man Utd redundancies | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim claimed that the brutal round of sackings instigating by the club's co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe represent a "clear path" to success.

Since Ratcliffe's INEOS acquired a minority stake which came with sporting control in the middle of last season, the new regime has overseen wide-spread cutbacks. United recently confirmed that as many as 200 employees will be made redundant in what was described as a "transformation plan".

These brutal slashes - which follow the exit of around 250 employees last summer - have been widely criticised. Last year's cull is expected to save the club around £30m, yet United spent more than £21m to sack Erik ten Hag and hire Amorim this season. That eye-watering outlay doesn't even take into consideration the £4.1m sporting director Dan Ashworth collected after he was dismissed five months into his brief tenure.

Amorim tried to paint a flattering view of the exits. When asked for a positive about the club, the Portuguese coach chose to single out his bosses. "I see a clear path, I see that from the board also," Amorim insisted. "They are doing difficult changes, they are not popular, but they are doing them because they have a vision. That is clear.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe (centre) is not a popular figure at Man Utd / OLI SCARFF/GettyImages

"But in the future we need to show some results - because you can make a lot of changes and if we don't have results, people won't feel confidence and happy. The good thing is we have a clear path, now it's hard but we are doing things to achieve success in the future."

Amorim had previously expressed sympathy for those at the club losing their jobs, even accepting some blame given the team's dire results.

By failing to qualify for the Champions League last season - which happened under the watch of Amorim's predecessor Ten Hag - United missed out on the riches which come with Europe's premier club competition.

The Red Devils are so far the top earners in this season's Europa League but their current haul of £18.7m in prize money is less than Swiss side Young Boys earned (£24.9m) while finishing with the worst record in the league phase of the Champions League.

Slumped in 14th place in the Premier League table with just 11 games remaining, United are unlikely to qualify for any European competition through their final league position. Defending their FA Cup title would guarantee a return to the Europa League, but if United win the continent's second-tier club competition this season, that will open a back door into the Champions League.