David Ornstein rates Ten Hag chances of Man Utd sack amid concerning Sir Jim Ratcliffe changes
Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag
David Ornstein has addressed speculation Sir Jim Ratcliffe might sack Erik ten Hag if he takes full control of all football operations at Manchester United, stating that the Dutchman’s job safety is currently at an eight out of 10.
Ratcliffe, who already owns Nice through his company INEOS, is on the verge of paying £1.3billion for a 25 per cent stake in Man Utd. Ratcliffe had been in a takeover race with Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim, but the latter pulled out of talks after his final, £5bn proposal was rejected.
Ratcliffe has claimed himself to be a lifelong Man Utd fan, who only wants the best for the club. It has been suggested that he will accelerate the plans to fix Old Trafford’s numerous problems, while also trying to increase the capacity to a stunning 90,000.
Ratcliffe has been left unimpressed by how the people running Man Utd – who have been appointed by the Glazers – have performed their jobs in recent years. This has led to reports that both director of football John Murtough and CEO Richard Arnold might be replaced.
Paul Mitchell, who has worked at Tottenham, RB Leipzig and Monaco previously, is a prime candidate to take over from Murtough.
If both of those positions are changed, then Ten Hag will be worried about whether he might be sacked and replaced with a truly elite manager, as Ratcliffe looks to make a big impression upon his arrival at Man Utd.
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During a Q&A for The Athletic, Ornstein was asked how safe Ten Hag’s job is, on a scale of one to 10. He replied: ‘At the time of writing, I would guess it’s around an eight. I don’t know of the current Man Utd hierarchy having anything other than faith in him and it is being suggested that INEOS are happy with the job he is doing.
‘The only reason it’s not a 10 is because football is a results business, the results have not been to the club’s level of expectation so far this season and you never know.
Ten Hag ‘in a position of strength’ at Man Utd – David Ornstein
‘But right now I think he is in a position of strength for the present and future.’
It appears it is very unlikely Ratcliffe and INEOS will walk into the Man Utd board room and demand Ten Hag be sacked. Instead, they will be hoping that with an improved transfer policy, Ten Hag can get the best out of the squad and finally get the Red Devils back to the summit of English football.
Although, as Ornstein points out, the 53-year-old coach must start to drag Man Utd up the Premier League table and improve the team’s performances. They have had a disappointing start to the season, currently occupying 10th spot in the league, and that will not be allowed to continue under Ratcliffe.
