Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has addressed the most recent round of redundancies at Old Trafford and Carrington in his latest press conference as well as the club’s wider finances.
Speaking before a crucial clash against Spurs which has already been dubbed the ‘Calamatico’, with both teams struggling for form as their both Amorim and opposite number Ange Postecoglu remain hell-bent on sticking to their tactics, the 40-year-old was quizzed ahead of yet more layoffs within the business.
It was only last autumn that co-owner Sim Jim Ratcliffe and the INEOS Group made 250 employees redundant as one of his first major edicts in charge of the club and it is now being heavily reported that at least another 100 staff are set to lose their jobs if not more.
Although he wouldn’t be drawn into the discussion too much, Amorim did reflect on the evident and continued cost-cutting taking place around United and crucially argued that the talk of more redundancies is and should be on everyone’s minds.
🎥-🔴 Ruben Amorim on staff members losing their jobs
🗣️ “It’s really important for us in the first team, coaches and players, to not ignore that. People are losing their jobs so we have to acknowledge that the biggest problem is the football team.”
“I think it’s really important for us in the first team, coaches and players, to not ignore that,” he began. “People are losing their jobs so we have to acknowledge that the biggest problem is the football team.
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“Because we spend the money, we are not winning; we’re not in the Champions League, so the revenues are not the same, and we spent a lot of money in the past so now we have to be careful with the finances.”
He goes on to say that while he and the board cannot rebuild the team the way they and the fans would no doubt like as a result of this, he reiterated that people losing employment is the most pressing concern and that a lack of job security is obviously going to affect the mood around the club.
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United have lost over £300 million over the last three years, with large severance fees paid to the likes of Erik ten Hag when he was sacked, along with coaching staff.
Most notably, INEOS also let sporting director Dan Ashworth go just after paying a premium to hire him for just five months – a head-scratching decision which further rubbed supporters the wrong way after having just made 250 staff redundant.
“We cannot ignore [the redundancies]”, Amorim continued, adding that “the responsibility is on the first team and we have to change that.”
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He went even further to add that in order “to change that, the first thing that we should do is to [beat] Tottenham – that is the small step to try to help these people, to try not to push the prices of the tickets higher.”
It’s the first time Amorim has spokenly openly about fan frustration following the £66 ticket price hike which was announced towards the end of 2024, and it seems he made it pretty clear what he thinks of it.
The job losses, targeting of concessions, reduction/removal of bonuses and limited activity in the January window United are just a reaction to the loss of income either.
United remains in large sums of debt and are said to still owe approximately £319m in unpaid transfer fees alone, so cutbacks were always going to happen, but Amorim clearly believes that the simplest thing he and his squad can do is still improve their fortunes on the pitch.
United fans will definitely be relieved to hear that Amorim aligns with their sentiment and was quick to hold himself and the players accountable for the impending redundancies and more, even if many missteps were before his time.
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More importantly, everyone around the club seems to be in agreeance with one core, underlying factor: the performances just haven’t been good enough and business decisions aside, that has to be the priority in order for other aspects to improve in turn.
With United and Spurs 14th and 15th in the Premier League table, respectively, and both figures in the dugout under pressure, there’s a lot riding on Sunday’s fixture down in the capital.
You can watch the first half of Amorim’s pre-match press conference HERE and the previously embargoed section down below:
Featured Images — Manchester United (screenshot via YouTube)/The Manc Group
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Liam Broady is on the comeback – here’s why you need to watch out for him at Wimbledon
The Manc
Local tennis player Liam Broady is quietly rising back up the ranks on the ITF Tour, and here’s why we think you should watch out for him come Wimbledon 2026 this summer.
He is physical proof that the ATP Tour ranking means so much to a player’s career.
The Stockport-born tennis player has suffered many injury setbacks since turning pro in 2014. With a host of ankle and back injuries plaguing his playing career, he has had to turn to the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Tour to climb the rankings once again.
He is currently placed at 283* on the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour after reaching two semi-finals in the space of a month.
With wins on two of Portugal’s hard courts in Faro and Santo António, the 32-year-old has climbed from rank 303 at the start of the year to under the threshold in less than three months.
His hard work on outdoor courts is paying off as his seeding is slowly improving, and his opponents are becoming less of a challenge.
For the unititated, the ATP ranking is decided by a points system that determines your playing level, and therefore who you can possibly draw, with lower seeds getting tougher games as they need more points, and vice versa.
These point tallies factor into every win, loss, serve, and shot as it propels you up or down the table.
With an injury over Christmas, the Stopfordian Team GB player came back stronger for the start of the annual tournament calendar and now looks to be in fighting form on the ITF Tour.
He’s definitely had to tackle some obstacles over the years, both on and off the court…
Competing solely on outdoor hard courts to gain his fitness levels back is necessary, but the grass courts – his speciality – will come around with time and consistent form, with Wimbledon being his home tournament and his highlight of the competitive calendar.
His career best ranking was 93, after becoming the first British wildcard entry to beat an ATP top five player in 2023 when defeating Casper Rudd on Wimbledon’s centre court.
His win against the Norwegian in round two sent him into the top 100 rankings for the first time, and into the shining spotlight alongside British tennis stars.
The adverse effects of time away from the tour are clear to see with Broady’s peaks and dips in the table below; this means taking a hit to player motivation, game-to-game momentum and teamworking within doubles pairs.
Liam Broady’s career rankings progression chart. (Credit: ATP Tour)
It is a likely situation for players to neglect their doubles career without the added stress of injury, so if they are to arise, it does not just impact individual physicality levels but also communication between doubles pairs.
A fellow British player with similar injury problems is Emma Raducanu, who rose to fame with a shocking US Open grand slam win as a qualifier. Since her win, she has had multiple surgeries, which saw her plummet down WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) standings due to time spent off court.
The issues that come with injury upsets can make a career really difficult to reclaim, even at a young age; tour rankings can be brutal on game time and match opponents, such as Broady’s Wimbledon draw against Holland’s Van De Zandschulp and Raducanu’s recent draw against American no.3 Anisimova.
We hope to see Team GB’s athletes fit and ready to fight on tour, and we have a strong feeling we’ll see native talent Broady back in the spotlight where he belongs.
Manchester Basketball set to make history at first-ever Super League Cup finals in the city
Danny Jones
In case you missed the latest landmark for Manchester Basketball, both of our men’s and women’s teams have officially reached the 2026 Super League Cup Finals.
Aside from being a huge achievement for the fresh sporting franchise in itself, things are now all set up for a perfect weekend for local fans, with the conclusion of the Super League Cup taking place in our city for the very first time.
All that being said, it’s quite a watershed moment for this new and improved outfit – and pretty soon, too, so here’s hoping they can follow it up with a dream ending against the kings and queens of the capital.
Secure your Cup Finals tickets now 🏆 You don’t want to miss it 🎟️
— Super League Basketball (@SprLeagueBballM) March 8, 2026
It’s rare you get both the male and female members from the same side making it to the final of a major competition in the same year, not to mention having it hosted on their own turf.
Zak Irvin, Captain of the Men’s side, said in a statement: “Since I arrived here, the goal has been to bring championships home to the city.
“Our team has a great opportunity to do that in front of a Manchester crowd on the 22nd. It’s going to be an electric final, and having the backing of the Manchester crowd can be a real difference maker.”
With multiple Manc natives like Kaiyem Cleary, Demi Babalola and Irene Oboavwoduo in the squad – all of whom have come through the club’s junior pathways – they’ve got hometown pride on the line, too.
And better yet, they’ve already proved that they can make sure the weight of the occasion doesn’t get the better of them, having just won a major European knockout match as part of the MOBOs Fringe Festival earlier this week.
Facing off against KK Dubrava from Zagreb, they managed to pull off a narrow victory, beating the Croatians 94-92 to make it through to the quarter-finals of this year’s European North Basketball League (ENBL) knockout phase.
17-year-old Irene added, “It means a lot to me to play in a Cup final in my home city. Having my family and friends there, as well as all the support for Manchester, will be incredible.
“To play in a domestic final around the corner from where I’ve grown up is really unique. We’re all excited for the game; it will be a great occasion.”
With the stage set for what we have every faith will be an unforgettable conclusion at the AO Arena, it’s on us to make sure they’ve got the stands on their side.
Taking place on Sunday, 22 March, with seat prices starting from just £26 for adults (or £65 if you want to sit courtside), let’s help Manchester Basketball get over the line against London Lions.
Danny Jones -
16th February 2025 
