Sir Jim Ratcliffe admits Erik ten Hag’s Man United structure is ‘outdated’ as part of 100-day assessment

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has opened up on Manchester United’s poor structure surrounding Erik ten Hag following his £1.3 billion investment at Old Trafford.

Part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s strategy at Manchester United is to have a 100-day assessment surrounding the current structure of the Old Trafford club, deciding what action must be taken in order to improve it.

It is well-known that the current set-up at United is not up to the standard of a modern football club, which is evident considering their decline in status among the European elite.

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“We have to look at the organisation of the club because it is not good at the moment,” Ratcliffe told the Belgian newspaper De Tijd.

He continued, explaining that the current scaffold around manager Erik ten Hag is “no longer possible” at a modern club, and must be changed.

“Take the head coach (Erik ten Hag); for example, he must report directly to the CEO. That is no longer possible in a modern football organisation,” he said.

“We have to ensure that the right people end up in the right positions. Every person in management must be world-class.

“And then it is important to create a positive, supportive, friendly and high-quality environment. That culture was missing before.

“Only in such an environment can you get the best out of sportsmen. If successful, the results will follow automatically. That’s the plan, and I believe in it.”

Ratcliffe’s 27.7 per cent investment in United was confirmed on Tuesday evening, and he will now begin the process of rebuilding Manchester United back to the club it once was.