Sir Jim Ratcliffe, for avoidance of doubt, has made it clear that he is not the one responsible for making a sack decision on Erik ten Hag.
“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,” the sun-swept billionaire told the BBC in Barcelona.
He was speaking after witnessing a Great Britain sailing team qualify for the America’s Cup – the oldest competition in world sport – for the first time in 60 years thanks to his bankrolling of Ineos Britannia. Meanwhile, 1,100 miles away in Manchester, many feel Ten Hag is sailing close to the wind.
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The United boss was urged to jump ship by a lifelong friend after winning the FA Cup in May but he refused to resign. Now he could be forced to walk the plank anyway by the new club board amid pressure to change skipper.
Ten Hag risks plunging into the international break on a five-game winless run should United fail to win at Villa Park, which will be bouncing after seeing Aston Villa defeat Bayern Munich in the midweek Champions League clash.
An adverse result will see increased calls for the board to make a decision on his future, just four months after it handed the Dutchman a one-year extension following the failed hunt for a successor. However, Ratcliffe has sent a clear message to the new hierarchy.
“I like Erik,” he said, rating him as a “very good coach”. Ratcliffe later continued: “[The board] team that’s running United has only been together since June or July. They weren’t there in January, February, March or April – Omar [Berrada] and 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.”
These comments suggest that Ratcliffe errs on the side of caution and consideration, with it being ambiguous whether he would denote the axing of Ten Hag as “sensible” given his appraisal.
And as one United great told this reporter last month, there is also the question of who could replace the manager.
“There’s no point sacking somebody if there’s nobody to come in,” Nicky Butt stressed. “For me, I’d give him [Ten Hag] time to get it right. If they don’t do that, they just should have let go of him in the post-season.”
But Ashworth also has Ratcliffe’s final comments in Barcelona to consider: “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.”
If the board decides that Ten Hag is not the man who can get United back to the heights of yesteryear once more, Ratcliffe could have few qualms should Ten Hag be shown the door.
Ratcliffe has made clear his ultimate objective and that Ashworth and co. are the ones responsible for the managerial position. His comments also infer a trust that they will do the right thing, whether that be ordering a sacking or not.
But Ratcliffe has also clearly urged the regime back at Old Trafford to properly assess the situation before making a call and not to rush into a decision given the lack of time members have been in situ.
This would indicate that a sack decision might not come in the immediate days after a poor result against Aston Villa. But the onus is very much on Ashworth and boardroom figures to decide whether Ten Hag is still captain of the vessel for the first game back after the international pause.
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