Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said a decision about
under-fire manager Erik ten Hag is not his call, and was reticent about whether
he still has faith in the team’s boss amid their worst start to the Premier
League season since 1986-87.
“I don’t want to
answer that question,” Ratcliffe told the BBC. “I like Erik. I think he’s a
very good coach but at the end of the day it’s not my call, it’s the management
team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the
team in many different respects.
“That team that’s
running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They
weren’t there in January, February, March or April — Omar (Berrada, CEO),
(Sporting Director) Dan Ashworth — they only arrived in July.
“They’ve only been
there . . . you can count it in weeks almost — they’ve not been there a long
time so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.”
Ten Hag’s job was the
subject of speculation for much of last season en route to the team’s lowest
Premier League finish of eighth. After an FA Cup final victory over Manchester
City and an end-of-season review, however, Ten Hag signed a new contract to extend
his stay at Old Trafford until 2026.
“Our objective is very clear, we want to take Manchester United
back to where it should be, and it’s not there yet, obviously, that’s very
clear,” Ratcliffe said.
Ten Hag continues
to plead for patience from fans with the team languishing 13th in the Premier
League table, having lost three of their six opening games. They were headed
towards defeat by Porto in the Europa League on Thursday before Harry Maguire
scored a last-gasp goal to salvage a 3-3 draw.
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