diff --git a/gauntmta_backup.sh b/gauntmta_backup.sh
index 814b058..446e0dc 100644
--- a/gauntmta_backup.sh
+++ b/gauntmta_backup.sh
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ tar -cpSzf "${TAR}" --exclude="${BACKUP_DIR}" --exclude=/var/cache --exclude=/va
 
 # only keep 14 copies on local disk, seafile will keep deleted history
 # https://stackoverflow.com/questions/25785/delete-all-but-the-most-recent-x-files-in-bash
-ls -tp "${BACKUP_DIR}" | grep -v '/$' | tail -n +15 | xargs -I {} rm -- {}
+cd "${BACKUP_DIR}"
+ls -tp  | grep -v '/$' | tail -n +15 | xargs -I {} rm -- {}
 
 # sync the backup directory to seafile
 rclone sync "${BACKUP_DIR}" seafile: