If Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag was hoping for a vote of confidence in his role as head coach, Sir Jim Ratcliffe may have just provided the opposite.
Speaking to the BBC, the INEOS chief and Manchester United owner was quizzed on the Red Devils boss after another disappointing result, this time against Porto.
Asked if he has faith in the Red Devils’ boss, he said: “I don’t want to answer that question.”
He added: “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.”
Not exactly a ringing endorsement for his under-fire employee…