SIR JIM RATCLIFFE says sticking by Erik ten Hag last summer was a “mistake”.
Manchester United’s co-owner apologised to fans for keeping the Dutch boss despite their worst league finish for 34 YEARS.
He also admitted it was an error bringing in sporting director Dan Ashworth.
Ten Hag was given a one-year deal following a post-season review, after winning the FA Cup and finishing eighth.
He was then sacked ten Prem games into this campaign, with United down in 14th.
It cost the club £21.4million to get rid of him and hire Ruben Amorim as boss. Ashworth left in December after just five months, costing another £4.1m.
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Ratcliffe, 72, said: “Those decisions were errors. There were some mitigating circumstances, but they were errors. I accept that and apologise.
“It wasn’t just the FA Cup final. The fans were of the view that we’d like to stick with him.
“With Erik, there was an emotional response. We get criticised for being unemotional and there was a bit of emotion with that.
“If you look at the time we made the decision about Erik, the management team hadn’t been in place more than five minutes.
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“It became clearer three months later. We corrected it and are in a different place today.”
Ratcliffe has also insisted that while Amorim is “not perfect” he is the right man to lead the club forward.
He told The Times: “I really, really like Ruben. He’s a very thoughtful guy. Every time I go to the training ground, I speak to Ruben.
“I sit down and have a cup of coffee with him and tell him where it’s going wrong, and he tells me to f*** off. I like him.”
Man Utd ratings vs Arsenal as De Ligt shows exactly why Man Utd signed him but Zirkzee is as frustrating as ever
IT was a performance that would have pleased Ruben Amorim but a 1-1 draw with Arsenal does little to paper over the cracks at Manchester United.
On a day when the Old Trafford crowd protested the owners, the players stood up to show their remains life in a club that fans say is experiencing a “slow death”.
There was a lack of clear-cut chances in the opening 45 minutes as both sides goalscoring troubles continued.
A moment of magic was needed and Fernandes stepped up as he so often does.
Arsenal’s wall was full of man mountains, but Fernandes found the power, dip and accuracy to beat David Raya with his free-kick – even if the wall was marched 11.2 yards back instead of the regulated ten.
Mikel Arteta’s side came out swinging in the second-half with their makeshift No9 up top, and it took a brilliant effort from Declan Rice to level the scores.
United were able to frustrate them and remain a threat on the counter but eventually had to settle for a point in a much-improved performance.
Here is how SunSport’s Martin Blackburn rated the United performances.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
