Football manager 2011, badly depleated squad and everyone has poor or very poor morale?

it's season 2017, iv'e gone 15 games lost 12, drawn the other 3, i keep on getting thrashed, my top players have gone, rooney, hernandez, valencia, cerci, konoplyanka, nani. the only attacking midfield i have are, stanislas, montero, gibson, cohen, rodwell, perisic and modric, the only striker i have is macheda, i was top till december, all my top player i had to let go, coz they were out of contract and i couldn't afford their wage demands, i don't know how to turn things round this season, how do you play the game, are you supposed to just ride out a bad season and start again the next.