Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has given head coach Ruben Amorim three years to prove himself and insists he will not run the club on “knee-jerk” reactions.
The Portuguese is approaching the first anniversary of his appointment at Old Trafford, but his position has been under constant scrutiny since he took over on November 1 last year.
He has failed to record back-to-back Premier League wins during that time, coming 15th last season – their worst top-flight finish since 1974 – and things have not improved much since the summer as United were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League Two Grimsby in August.
That has led to suggestions Amorim’s job is under threat, but Ratcliffe said the 40-year-old was a “good guy” and had time to turn things around.
“He has not had the best of seasons. Ruben needs to demonstrate he is a great coach over three years. That’s where I would be,” he told The Business podcast, produced by The Times and The Sunday Times.
“The press, sometimes I don’t understand. They want overnight success. They think it’s a light switch. You know, you flick a switch and it’s all going to be roses tomorrow.
“You can’t run a club like Manchester United on knee-jerk reactions to some journalist who goes off on one every week.”
Ratcliffe has owned just under 30 percent of United through his chemicals company Ineos since February 2024, taking over control of football operations at the club.
That still left the Glazer family, who have been the subject of numerous fan protests over their handling of the club since taking over in 2005, in overall charge.
Asked what would happen if the Glazers told him to sack Amorim, Ratcliffe said: “It’s not going to happen.”
The Ineos boss added the Glazers were happy for him to take charge, adding: “That probably sums it up. We’re local and they’re the other side of the pond.
“That’s a long way away to try and manage a football club as big as complex as Manchester United. We’re here with feet on the ground.
“They get a bad rap…but they are really nice people and they are really passionate about the club.”
Ratcliffe has come in for criticism of his own after controversial cuts designed to drive down costs saw around 450 jobs axed and the removal of perks like subsidised staff lunches.
“The costs were just too high. There are some fantastic people at Manchester United, but there was also a level of mediocrity and it had become bloated,” he said.
“I got a lot of flak for the free lunches, but no-one’s ever given me a free lunch.
“The biggest correlation, like it or not, between results and any external factor – is profitability. The more cash you have got, the better squad you can build.
“So a lot of what we have done in the first year is spend an awful lot of time putting the club on a sustainable, healthy footing.
“We’re not seeing all the benefits of the restructuring that we’ve done in this set of (financial) results (United last month reported record revenues of £666.5million for last season but a loss of £33million for the financial year) and we were not in the Champions League.
“Those numbers will get better. Manchester United will become the most profitable football club in the world, in my view, and from that will stem, I hope, a long-term, sustainable, high-level of football.”
Farage to meet Manchester United owner as Reform woos business chiefs
Tottenham owners inject £100m into club in statement of ‘ambition’
Le Tissier hailed as Man Utd’s ‘rock’ after earning first Champions League win
Thomas Tuchel warns England ahead of World Cup 2026
Craig Bellamy adamant Wales will not be ‘tourists’ at Wembley against England
World Cup 2026: Who is through and how does qualifying work?
