Man Utd’s woeful draw with Brentford ‘goes down badly with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’ as pressure grows on Erik ten Hag
MANCHESTED UNITED’S dismal performance against Brentford has “gone down badly in Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s camp”, according to reports.
Erik ten Hag‘s men produced an insipid display at the Gtech Community Stadium and were incredibly fortunate to leave West London with a 1-1 draw on Saturday night.
Yet despite avoiding defeat, the manner of the display has not gone unnoticed by Man Utd‘s new minority owner Ratcliffe, 71.
According to The Telegraph, the Red Devils’ 2-1 home defeat to Fulham back in February was “dimly received” by Ineos bosses.
And Ratcliffe, who now owns 27 per cent of the club, was left thoroughly unimpressed again this past weekend.
The report does not state whether or not Ten Hag will be sacked at the end of the season.
However, it does claim Ratcliffe believes the sort of football on display is “unsustainable in the long-term”.
Man Utd now sit eight points adrift of fifth-place Tottenham and 11 behind fourth-place Aston Villa, meaning Champions League qualification is highly unlikely.
Ten Hag, whose last hopes of silverware hinge on the FA Cup, urged his senior players to “take responsibility” following the disappointment at Brentford.
He said: “We didn’t deserve to win but we showed resilience all through the game.
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“But in points of aggression, Brentford were better. We should show more passion and desire in many moments in the game. But when you are winning you should bring it over the line.
“You can never compare such levels and performances [to Liverpool] but also when you don’t play well you still have to win – we did it almost. That is my big disappointment that we didn’t bring it over the line.
“We didn’t play well but there was spirit, there was fight, but not enough. It was enough to get the goal, 1-0, and before that we had a big chance for Rasmus Hojlund.
“We have many senior players we should all stand up and we also take responsibility for this.”
Man Utd take on Chelsea on Thursday, before a tough home game against Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday.