Co-owner of Manchester United Sir Jim Ratcliffe says it was a mistake not to dismiss Erik ten Hag in the summer.
The Dutch head coach received an extended contract in Old Trafford after beating Man City in the FA Cup final, but then became nine games in this campaign.
Speaking with Gary Neville from Sky Sports, Ratcliffe says that his newly assembled leadership team of Chief Executive Omar Barkrada, Ineos Director of Sport Sir Dave Brailsford and the technical director of the club Jason Wilcox did not come to the right conclusion.
Man Utd is now 14th in the Premier League table, 36 points behind Liverpool – which are ready to match the record of 20 English league titles – with Ruben Amorim as head coach.
“It was too early for us to make a big decision in reality,” said Ratcliffe when explaining their decision -making in the summer.
“We had not been together as a team. It was just a matter of weeks and it is a fairly big decision, isn't it quite difficult. It was quite difficult to extract in that season when we arrived, Erik's performance from the structure around him.
“Of course the structure all around [current head coach Ruben Amorim] Now is completely different. There is a really strong relationship and a really strong support culture for Ruben. Jason and Ruben talk to each other two or three times a day, Omar speaks with Ruben every day, every time I go to the game, I speak to Ruben.
“But it was quite difficult to see in which environment Erik was active. Was it, in other words, the irregular execution a function of Erik, or was it a function of the organization? And we couldn't really answer that question with certainty, I assume, so we gave the benefit of the doubt.”
Asked by Neville if he is sorry, Ratcliffe said: “Yes, it was the wrong decision. We made the wrong decision. It was a mistake. So yes, I suppose I regret it in that sense.
“I think there were a number of mitigating or mitigating circumstances to make that decision, but in the end it was the wrong decision, so hands up, of course.”
View the full interview that is available on the overlapping YouTube channel.
Comments