“Erik ten Hag’s future at Man United is not my decision” – Jim Ratcliffe

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe refused to give reassurances to under-fire coach Erik ten Hag, insisting a decision on the Dutchman's future was out of his hands.

Ten Hag are under pressure after a run of four games without a win and face a crucial game against Aston Villa on Sunday, but Ratcliffe, who is expected to be present at Villa Park, said it would not be his job if the club decided to do so make a change.

Asked by the BBC in Barcelona whether he still had faith in Ten Hag, Ratcliffe said: “I don’t want to answer that question. I like Eric. I think he's a very good coach, but at the end of the day that's not my coach. “It's the management team that runs Manchester United and in many ways has to decide how we best run the team.

United have been reshaping their structure since Ratcliffe acquired a 27.7% stake in the club in February.

Omar Berrada was appointed CEO, while Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox were named 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, saying it was made before they officially began their new roles.

“The team that runs 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 didn’t arrive until July.”

“They've just been there – you can almost count it in weeks – they haven't been there in a long time, so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.”

“Our goal is very clear: we want to get Manchester United back to where it should be, and that's obviously not there yet. That’s very clear.”