Sir Jim Ratcliffe's decision immediately after Man Utd crisis meeting speaks volumes

Manchester United's bosses were involved in a lengthy meeting, which centred around Erik ten Hag's future, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe made a back door exit to dodge questions

Sir Jim Ratcliffe chose to leave out the back door, and in doing so dodged the media, after a seven-hour crisis meeting with senior figures at Manchester United.

The INEOS chief, now the minority owner, arrived in London on Tuesday morning to take part in discussions with the likes of Joel Glazer and CEO Omar Berrada. High on their agenda was the future of Erik ten Hag, who has come under mounting pressure despite it still being early in the season.

Sporting director Dan Ashworth, technical director Jason Wilcox and director Sir Dave Brailsford were also present for the talks, which began at 10am and finished just before 5pm. Ratcliffe and Brailsford then left through a rear entrance to avoid the waiting media.

Ratcliffe and the senior figures he brought to Manchester considered a managerial change in the summer following United's worst ever Premier League season. They scoured the market and held discussions, but eventually opted to stick by Ten Hag.

The Dutchman was handed a new one-year deal which came after he'd delivered the FA Cup. The shock victory over Manchester City helped Ten Hag retain his job - but already there are serious questions over his role.

United have endured their worst ever start to a Premier League season despite their manager being handed more funds in the summer. He continued to go after former players with Matthijs de Ligt signed from Bayern Munich.

That has done little to solve United's issues though with their defence still a major problem. They've continued to ship goals, losing 3-0 at home to Tottenham and Liverpool. Recent draws with Porto and Aston Villa have done little to inspire. Ratcliffe was present at Villa Park, alongside the likes of Sir Dave Brailsford, to watch the Red Devils draw 0-0.

The INEOS chief was quizzed last week on whether Ten Hag would remain as manager but claimed it wasn't his call, instead wanting the senior figures he hired to make a decision.

He said: "I like Erik. I think he's a very good coach but at the end of the day it's not my call," said Ratcliffe, who has overhauled the club's board structure and executive team since investing £1.25 billion for a 27.7% stake in the club. 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.

He maintained: "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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