Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s reaction at full-time at Villa Park said it all as Manchester United could only manage a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa on Sunday.
It comes amid huge pressure on Erik ten Hag, who had been told he had two games to save his United career after a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham last week.
The Red Devils failed to win either match, drawing against Porto in the Europa League with a last-gasp equaliser and now a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa.
What it means for Ten Hag’s future remains to be seen with options reportedly being looked at such as Simone Inzaghi and Gareth Southgate.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe did not give much away as United drew to Villa
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But United co-owner Ratcliffe was giving nothing away at Villa Park at full-time when the whistle was blown, as he sat stony-faced alongside INEOs chief Sir Dave Brailsford and CEO Omar Berrada, United sporting director Dan Ashworth, United technical director Jason Wilcox and club legend and director Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ratcliffe did not applaud nor grimace, instead getting out of his seat and leaving as soon as the referee ended the game.
Earlier this week, Ratcliffe, who has invested £1.25billion for a 27.7 per cent stake in the club, was asked directly about the future of Ten Hag at Old Trafford.
The British billionaire, who does not often speak to the media, said: “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.”
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe got up and left straight after full-time
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United’s winless streak has extended to five matches and they sit 14th in the Premier League – miles behind their lofty expectations, especially after a summer of heavy investment.
Ten Hag was trusted in the summer when his contract was extended by another year and allowed to bring in Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui.
But despite the poor record, Ten Hag was full of praise for his side after a battling point against Villa.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe was more animated during the game
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He said: “I think the performance of United was very good. Defending and in possession we controlled the game. It was in the balance.
“We created chances but not loads. Also Villa didn’t create too many chances. It was balanced. We hit the crossbar, they had a shot blocked.
“We had that resilience, the whole season. We conceded three against Tottenham because we were down to 10 and we still went for the win.
“But for the rest this is our fourth clean sheet. This tells you we are in a good direction.
“Now also we improve defending counter attacks, and we improve controlling possession. But also we have to improve in the final third.