Wilcox says 'sometimes you need to sell players' as Fernandes hits out at Man Utd

Jason Wilcox "says sometimes the players you take out of the squad is as important as those you bring in" as Bruno Fernandes criticises the way he claims the Manchester United sporting director tried to push him out the door.

Wilcox was brought in under Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS from Southampton to be the key decision maker on which players to sign and so far most fans consider him to have had mixed success.

While at the same time Fernandes recently told Portuguese media that Wilcox and the United board wanted him to leave for Saudi Arabia in the summer so that they could cash in on him.

Wilcox says that he has been working on putting the foundations in place at the club having found it in a worst position than he expected.

"It's been a rollercoaster, I came in last April so I've been in just now over 18 months and it's been a real challenge. I'm not going to lie, I thought the club was in a much better place than what it was," he told the Association of Manchester United Players.

"We had no football identity. We lacked alignment between ownership and the football - the CEO and football and the academy - and we've just been working so hard behind the scenes."

Wilcox defended the redundancies brought in under Ratcliffe. "There's an awful lot of work that's gone on to change the staff. I know in the media there's an awful lot of coverage around the redundancies and things like this but the football club needed to go through a period of transformation without doubt," said the sporting director.

"Forget the redundancies, the whole structure of Manchester United needed to change and I would have done that from a sporting side. It's something that I would have looked at. I did the same at Southampton, I did the same at Man City.

"It's really important now we have a leaner workforce that provides accountability for people and responsibility and it's really sad to see people lose their jobs but it was an exercise that needed to be done but now we've got a platform to rebuild them.

"I didn't realize how big this club was even though I've competed against this club and as a player and as a coach and this club is just a I'm a wonderful football club and I'm extremely privileged. I just pray that we get the opportunity to turn it round."

Wilcox also talked about the selling of players and said that this is just as important to raise money.

"It's not a quick fix, especially now with the regulations. We needed to change the playing squad. We've now made some really good additions this summer. Sometimes taking players out of the squad is just as important as the players that you bring in," he said.

"And we've got to try and bring the culture and the respect back to Man United that whether you work for Man United or you play against Man United, you feel like you're part of something special and that's what we're trying to bring.

"I'm extremely proud, I'm extremely privileged, but extremely frustrated as well because we can't fix it quickly enough."

Fernandes has said it made him "sad" that United wanted him to leave for Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in the summer in a bumper deal.

The 31-year-old rejected the move to the Saudi Pro League in order to stay at Old Trafford, despite Al-Hilal reportedly being open to paying a fee of about £100m and wages of up to £700,000 a week.

Looking back on the Al-Hilal interest in a new interview recorded a few weeks ago, he said of United's stance: "From the club I felt it was, 'If you go it's not so bad for us'. It hurts me a bit."

Fernandes made the claims to Canal 11, a channel owned by the Portuguese Football Federation.

"More than hurting me, it makes me sad," Fernandes said. "I'm a player that no-one can criticise, I'm always available, I always give my best.

"I could have left in this transfer window, I would have earned much more money.

"I would have won many trophies this season, but I decided not to go, not only for family reasons but because I genuinely love the club."