Sir Jim Ratcliffe breaks silence on Erik ten Hag future with Manchester United admission | OneFootball

Ratcliffe admitted it is “very clear” Man United are not where they need to be

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said the decision on Erik ten Hag’s future at Manchester United is not his to make.

Ten Hag is under increasing pressure in the early weeks of the season, with the club sitting 13th in the Premier League and failing to win either of their first two Europa League matches.

The Dutchman signed a contract extension at Old Trafford in the summer through to 2026, but that came after United had held talks with several managers as they considered replacing Ten Hag.

United travel to face in-form Aston Villa this weekend, when another poor result and performance would leave the club with a big decision to make heading into the international break.

Asked if he still has faith in Ten Hag, United co-owner Ratcliffe told BBC Sport: “I don’t want to answer that question.

“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.

"But 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 – [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [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.

"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. Work to be done.”

Ten Hag has won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in his time at United, with the former seemingly saving his job as he looked set to be sacked before leading his side to victory over Manchester City in last season’s final.

However, despite United spending more than £600million since his arrival, the club still appear a long way off challenging for Premier League honours, having finished eighth last term and 31 points off City, and with similar problems already this campaign.

United are on a four-match winless run in all competitions, while only Southampton have scored fewer Premier League goals so far this season.