Anyone looking for bright lights at the end of the tunnel at Manchester United have found only darkness to peer into in recent days. On the pitch, Ruben Amorim is talking of the worst team in the club's history. Off it, executives are warning of further hard times ahead.

United did at least grind out a win on Thursday night, with Bruno Fernandes scoring in injury time to beat Rangers in the Europa League. It was another unconvincing performance, and it was all the more disheartening because Alejandro Garnacho played so well. The 20-year-old could be sold out of a financial necessity in the next few days.

Why that kind of deal is being pursued was laid bare in a letter from club officials to The 1958 supporters' group, released on social media in the hours before kick-off on Thursday. The 1958 had written to United to voice disapproval at mid-season ticket price rises and query future hikes. The message was hardly reassuring.

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“We are determined to ensure that our current fans can continue to afford to attend games and that tickets are accessible for future generations of fans,” the club said.

“As previously communicated, we are however currently making a significant loss each year — totaling over £300m in the past 3 years.

“This is not sustainable and if we do not act now we are in danger of failing to comply with PSR/FFP requirements in future years and significantly impacting our ability to compete on the pitch.

“We will get back to a cash positive position as soon as possible and we will have to make some difficult choices to get there. That has included a significant reduction to our workforce as well as cuts across many areas of spend across our club.

“None of this has been easy, but we believe it is essential to restoring financial sustainability to the club which will underpin us as we work to get back to the top of English and European football.”

That journey back to the top of the game is looking like being an arduous one and there is surely more pain ahead. This has already been a rocky first year under the control of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos empire.

In addition to those 250 redundancies, there have been slashes to staff bonuses and a decision to axe the Christmas party, deals for ambassadors and club legends axed, ticket prices put up, and concessions ended mid-season, not to mention those missteps on the pitch.

The financial position Ineos inherited was dire enough, but giving Erik ten Hag a new contract, then sacking him four months later, pursuing Dan Ashworth as sporting director from Newcastle and then dispensing with his services after a few months have damaged the balance sheet.

That has led to a position where club employees and supporters bear the brunt of Ratcliffe's drastic cost-cutting. The fans will feel it even more acutely between now and February 3 if Alejandro Garnacho is sold, with Chelsea and Napoli circling and looking to take advantage of a club that is almost advertising a fire sale.

Maybe Garnacho won't be the last popular, home-grown player to leave. They count as pure profit in accounting terms, bolstering United's position within UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules and the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). United need pure profit.

But if the dire financial situation is eased by a drastic rise in ticket prices, or by academy players being sold, it's not going to go down well with supporters. It is worth bearing in mind why United are in this mess in the first place.

As the excellent football finance expert Kieran Maguire posted on X, the £312.9m pre-tax loss for the last three years included £194.7m of interest payments. As every United fan knows, the Glazers are the real problem and always have been.

Now it is Ineos trying to tidy up their mess and make those interest payments less of a burden. Judging by their response to The 1958, it's going to be a painful process for supporters.