Man United owner Ratcliffe a “great supporter” of “outstanding” Rúben Amorim, praises Bruno Fernandes | OneFootball

Manchester United part-owner Jim Ratcliffe has given a couple of lengthy interviews to the British media, during which he has outlined his great support for manager Rúben Amorim.

Ratcliffe was quizzed by the BBC and former United player Gary Neville in seperate chats about a number of issues facing the club, who are currently battling poor results on the pitch and a precarious financial situation off the field.

United sit 14th in the Premier League, their only possible saving grace for the season coming in their hopes of winning the Europa League. Ratcliffe has faced much scrutiny for the way his INEOS partial ownership have operated since seizing control of sporting operations around a year ago.

Ratcliffe conceded the financial problems at the club must be managed carefully, while also admitting mistakes have been made already, describing the decision to persist with manager Erik ten Hag last summer and the brief stint of Dan Ashworth as sporting director as “errors” by the new regime.

However, Ratcliffe is firm when it comes to his faith in Amorim, who was poached from Sporting last November to replace Ten Hag. The United owner was asked if he felt pressured to stick with the Portuguese despite results remaining underwhelming in recent months, to which Ratcliffe emphasised the bigger picture.

“It’s not ‘have to stick with Rúben’, I think Rúben is an outstanding young manager, I really do,” Ratcliffe said. “He’s an excellent manager and I think he’ll be there for a long time. You saw a glimpse of what Rúben can produce against Arsenal. You look at that game, how many players on the bench did you recognise? How many of them have even worn a Manchester United shirt. There’s no squad left. I think Rúben is doing a super job.

“We are not where we would like to be, but we are in a period of change. We haven’t had much time to change the squad. We have a new coach, he came in mid-season and we have a long list of injuries.

“If you look at the top eight earners in Manchester United, Rúben has only got four of them because the other four are not available to him. If you look at the squad that’s actually available to Rúben, I think he’s doing a really good job to be honest.”

Most great coaches are emotional - Ratcliffe

Ratcliffe detailed the financial issues at the club, which date back twenty years to when majority owners the Glazer family conducted a leveraged buyout of the club and saddled United with significant debt. Ratcliffe estimates that £330m of cash has gone out of the club in the last 4-5 seasons, while United have lost money for seven straight years as performance on the pitch declined. Ratcliffe believes a serious of cost-cutting measures will address the problems.

Amorim has already gained a reputation in the media for blunt honesty in his press conferences, particularly after saying United “are being the worst team in the history of Man Utd” earlier this year. However, Ratcliffe commends the Portuguese’s candid nature in the press, as well as his hardline decision to send Marcus Rashford out on loan to Aston Villa.

“You have a sympathise a little bit with Rúben,” Ratcliffe says. “He’s come in mid-season, English is not his natural language. He’s come into the Premier League which we know is the toughest league in the world. He’s come into a squad which has got a serious of injuries and other issues.

“He, as most great coaches are, is an emotional character. Ruben is not perfect, neither am I. But I’m a great supporter of Rúben.

“Support his stance on Rashford? Yep. He wants a dressing room that is full of people who are totally committed to winning football matches. He won’t tolerate people who don’t have 100% that attitude. That’s Rúben. And the players have to be in the same box.”

"We need Bruno"

Ratcliffe also took time to highlight captain Bruno Fernandes. During a segment of the interview with BBC in which he appeared to be expressing doubt over signings made by the previous regime, Ratcliffe praised the Seleção midfielder, who again shone in the weekend draw with Arsenal by scoring a sensational free-kick.

“Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid, but for us to mould the squad that we are fully responsible for and accountable for, will take time. We’ve got this period of transformation where we’re moving from the past to the future.

“There are some great players in the squad as we know. The captain is a fabulous footballer. We definitely need Bruno, he’s a fantastic footballer. That would be really tough, to be without Bruno.”

Ratcliffe, who will announced plans for a new 100,000 seater Old Trafford stadium tomorrow, did leave a strong note of positivity for the future, assuring fans that his ambitions for the Red Devils are high.

“We are not perfect, we are on a journey and there have been a couple of errors along the way, but in the main but we are doing what’s right for the club,” he said. “And the club is going to finish up in a very different place in three years’ time to where it’s been in the past.

“I think it will become the most profitable club in the world in three years. That would be my prediction for Manchester United. I think we may well finish up with the most iconic football stadium in the world. And I think we will finish up winning silverware again.”