Sir Jim Ratcliffe breaks Sir Alex Ferguson rule as new Man United transfer priority confirmed

INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has broken one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s rules as he looks to shake things up at Manchester United.

Ratcliffe has already begun making controversial changes behind the scenes at United, which includes banning working from home among the club staff.

However, his latest adjustment goes against what Sir Alex Ferguson once described as a ‘tiny change’ with major ‘importance’.

According to the Daily Mail, Ratcliffe’s latest policy will prohibit staff members who do not directly work with the first team from dining in the main training ground canteen.

Instead, they will be directed to a separate area for lunch and will not have access to the ‘high-performance food’ enjoyed by the players.

Critics believe that banning staff members from the canteen will further alienate United’s playing squad from the club’s rank and file.

However, some within Old Trafford reportedly support the change and feel that certain staff members create an ‘unwanted distraction’ by lingering around the playing squad,

Ratcliffe’s decision to exclude staff from the canteen directly contradicts Ferguson’s philosophy, however. The Scotsman famously ensured that everyone employed by the club dined together in the same area.

“I wanted the younger players to be able to mingle and eat lunch with the staff too, including people like the laundry team and groundsmen,” explained Ferguson in his book, Leading.

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“I’d been influenced by what I had learned from Marks and Spencer, which, decades ago, in harder times, had given their staff free lunches because so many of them were skipping lunch so they could save every penny to help their families.

“It probably seems a strange thing for a manager to be getting involved in the layout of a canteen at a new training ground, but when I think about the tone it set within the club and the way it encouraged the staff and players to interact I can’t overstate the importance of this tiny change.”

Meanwhile, INEOS are also preparing to change the personnel on the pitch in the transfer window, and a new report from GiveMeSport has clarified a key priority for the club this summer.

The information stated that Ratcliffe and his INEOS-led team are aiming to sign two midfielders this summer.

It was explained that a key priority will be finding a midfielder to complement 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, as well as a further addition in the engine room, and that Wolves star Joao Gomes still being considered for their engine room.

There are also rumours that the club are interested in Benfica starlet Joao Neves, who Bruno Fernandes has previously recommended as an option for United to buy.