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Rob Dawson, Correspondent
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has refused to give assurances to under-fire manager Erik ten Hag and insisted a decision on the Dutchman’s future is out of his hands.
Ten Hag is under pressure after a run of four games without a win and faces a crunch fixture against Aston Villa on Sunday but Ratcliffe, who is expected to be in attendance at Villa Park, said it will not be his call if the club decide to make a change.
Asked by the BBC in Barcelona whether he still has faith in Ten Hag, Ratcliffe said: “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.”
United have revamped their structure since Ratcliffe acquired a 27.7% stake in the club in February.
Omar Berrada has been appointed CEO while Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox have come in as sporting director and technical director, respectively.
Ten Hag’s contract was extended by a year in the summer, although both Berrada and Ashworth have publicly distanced themselves from the decision because it was made before they were officially in their new roles.
“That team that’s running Manchester United has only been together since June or July,” Ratcliffe said.
“They weren’t there in January, February, March or April. Omar, 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.”