5 months ago
55 ARTICLE AD
Sir Jim Ratcliffe insists the managerial position is not a ‘central issue’ at Manchester United following the club’s decision to keep Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman’s position was under threat throughout last season and his future remained uncertain even after he guided United to victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley last month.
United’s hierarchy conducted a post-season review and approached several managers, including Thomas Tuchel and Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna, about the propsect of replacing Ten Hag at Old Trafford.
However, United have now opted to keep Ten Hag in place for the start of the new campaign, with Ratcliffe claiming that the club need to be ‘supportive’ in order to help younger players develop.
‘The coach isn’t the central issue at Manchester United,’ Ratcliffe said in an interview with Bloomberg.
‘It’s a sports club. It needs to be competitive, it needs a degree of intensity, but with a supportive side to it because you are dealing with players who are relatively young. It hasn’t had that type of environment historically.’
Ratcliffe also warned that he is ‘not confident’ that United’s squad issues will be addressed in the summer transfer window.
‘It will take two or three summer windows to get to a better place,’ Ratcliffe said.
‘I’m not confident that we’ll solve all the problems in the first transfer window.
‘Manchester United doesn’t have any players that are valued at €100 million or more.
Ratcliffe also added that buying one high-value player, ‘isn’t going to solve the problem at Manchester United’.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE : Gareth Southgate responds to Erik ten Hag comments with Luke Shaw injury update
MORE : Gabriel Martinelli reveals the ‘quality’ young star Arsenal have ‘great faith in’
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
