Man Utd star responds to Sir Jim Ratcliffe's 'overpaid' & 'not good enough' jibes | OneFootball

Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot insisted that the team is improving under head coach Ruben Amorim despite co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's scathing assessment of the current squad.

Ratcliffe was brutally honest during a recent round of interviews. The minority shareholder with sporting control of the club pointedly named five players - Antony, Casemiro, Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund and Jadon Sancho - who still have outstanding transfer fees which United need to pay this summer before going on to sensationally claim that "some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid".

These explosive comments were put to Dalot before United take on Leicester City on Sunday night. The Portuguese full-back didn't immediately shy away from the criticism.

"Ultimately this club will progress through what we do on the pitch, so we are all responsible for the future and the momentum of the club," he told reporters. "We know that we have that responsibility but we want to take it.

"The pressure is high but we are Manchester United players for a reason. We want to change things ourselves. It is clear that when you are 14th in the league, we are not doing what we should, so we want to change that. If we want to put Manchester United back on top we need to do much better."

Diogo Dalot (left) was keen to highlight United's strong form / James Baylis - AMA/GettyImages

However, Dalot did not restrict himself solely to self-laceration. The 25-year-old was keen to highlight that improvements had been made in recent weeks to a side now unbeaten in their last six outings.

"I think you are now seeing a much better team than a couple of months ago," Dalot insisted. "I think it's clear, When we talk about needing time, we aren't saying that just to buy time. Obviously, it's difficult when you play for a club like this because you must improve by always winning.

"The pressure is always high to win every game and when the results don't come, it is difficult to show progress. But I think in the last couple of games, you have seen something different. There have been different styles of play, but overall we are improving. It's something everyone can see - but results will ultimately show our position."

United were worthy winners against Real Sociedad in the Europa League on Thursday night, romping to a 4-1 victory which booked their place in the competition's quarter-finals. Amorim's side racked up 25 shots, ten of which were on target and an xG of 4.02 - new highs in each category during the Portuguese boss' rocky tenure, per Opta.

This burst of form has coincided with more controversial sackings led by Ratcliffe and his parent company INEOS. "You can see this is a period of change, especially since INEOS have come in," Dalot admitted. "You can see there's a different approach in terms of building a new structure around the club. It's clear.

"Everybody sees it and whether you like it or not, you can see some changes - and it's something different that we haven't seen before. So you can see that the club wants to go in a direction where they want to rebuild Manchester Utd and put Manchester Utd back on top. So I hope in the next couple of years, we can go there."