Man Utd owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Erik ten Hag refusal speaks volumes on firing threat

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made it clear that the decision to keep Erik ten Hag as Manchester United 's manager is not his to make. Ten Hag is currently facing increasing scrutiny at Old Trafford due to a challenging start to the season.

After six games, United is languishing in the lower half of the Premier League table, with an upcoming match against Aston Villa, who are performing well this season. Ratcliffe, after taking over football operations at the club, implemented several changes behind the scenes during his first summer.

Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth, and Jason Wilcox have all joined the club, and the Ineos boss highlighted the brief tenure they've had in their roles. The future of Ten Hag was a hot topic during the summer, with United considering potential replacements before deciding to stick with the Dutchman.

However, Ratcliffe's recent comments, made just two days before the Villa game, shed new light on the situation. And his refusal to back Ten Hag speaks volumes about the precarious position the Dutch manager is in.

• Man Utd owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's plans emerge as Erik ten Hag faces threat of being fired
• Erik ten Hag responds to fears of Man Utd firing after Tottenham thrashing

"I don't want to answer that question..." Ratcliffe told the BBC when asked if he had faith in the manager. "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.

"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 [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [Sporting Director] 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."

Ten Hag had hoped to ease some of the pressure with victory at Porto in the Europa League on Thursday. It wasn't to be, though, with United throwing away a two-goal lead before snatching a late point through Harry Maguire.

"We scored two great goals and then we switched off," the manager said. "We don't keep possession and defending, we're switching off. We conceded the first goal, totally unnecessary, then you light up the fire in this stadium and it becomes very tough.

"But I don't judge us at this moment. I judge us at the end of the season. We're in the process. Just wait. We have to develop this team. We will work and continue. We will fight.

"We started the game very well, we dominated, we scored two goals, but then we lost control. The middle part was not good, the ending was very good, but the defending we have to improve."