Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe refuses to back Erik ten Hag amid sack rumours

Sir Jim Ratcliffe said it will not be his decision whether Manchester United sack Erik ten Hag as he declined to give the under-pressure manager his backing.

United are only 13th in the Premier League after losing their last two top-flight games at Old Trafford 3-0 and have not won in four matches in all competitions to put the focus on Ten Hag’s position. Co-owner Ratcliffe said he liked the Dutchman but is not happy with their current situation.

Ten Hag was given a one-year contract extension in the summer but only after United spoke to various other managers as they considered replacing him.

Now Ratcliffe said it will be up to his new team off the field – including chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth, who both took up their posts in the summer – to decide Ten Hag’s future.

Ratcliffe opted not to say whether he still had faith in the Dutchman. “I don’t want to answer that question. I like Erik,” he told the BBC. “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 – Omar, Dan Ashworth – they only arrived in July.

“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.”

United laboured to a 3-3 draw with Porto in the Europa League on Thursday night, after throwing away a two-goal lead. They travel to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.