‘If I fail, I’ll step down’; Jim Ratcliffe makes promise after revealing cause for Manchester United’s decline

United’s co-owner aims to turn the fortunes of the club around after ‘unpleasant year’

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has promised to step down as owner of Manchester United if he fails in his task to restore the club to its former glory.

Ratcliffe, who owns around 29 per cent of the club, is in charge of the day-to-day football operations and believes that criticism of his decisions will die down if the team performs strongly.

A series of stringent cost-cutting methods, including stopping free lunches, increasing ticket prices for fans and making more than 200 staff members redundant, have made Ratcliffe and his team targets for criticism in the media and from supporters.

But the 72-year-old is steadfast in his determination about turning the fortunes of the club around and believes his decisions are the best way to achieve that.

“I genuinely believe in the things that we’re doing, and I do think that we’ve got the right people in place,” he said in an interview with The Times.

“I don’t think we’ll get there without making more mistakes because we’re not perfect, but I do think the trajectory will start to step up after the summer.

“What we want is a lean, efficient, elite organisation of about 700 people, not a fat organisation where people are not really focused, confused because there are too many people doing too many things that are not really relevant or important. And, to be honest with you, if I fail, I’ll step down. But I don’t think I’ll fail. As soon as we start playing good football and start winning, it will change.”

Ratcliffe believes criticism will die down if Man Utd continue to win games (Nick Potts/PA Wire)

Manchester United are enduring a horrible season on the pitch having been eliminated from both domestic cups while sitting 15th in the Premier League table. Their only saving grace is their European form where they have reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League and remain unbeaten.

Winning that trophy will boost support for Ratcliffe, but unless the club can compete for the Premier League title, which they have not won since 2013, no amount of silverware will be seen as success. Erik ten Hag, who won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in his two years at the club, is proof of that.

Ratcliffe himself called the decision to keep the Dutchman as manager last summer a “cock up”.

Ratcliffe also criticised the decisions of former Man Utd executives Ed Woodward (left) and Richard Arnold (right) (PA)

More tellingly, he revealed why he thinks the “biggest club in the world” has found itself in this position.

“The management of Manchester United have been given a huge amount of rope. The owners just managed the club and left the football side alone and they’ve made a lot of very poor decisions over 12 years, stupid things.

“They made a complete cock-up of it, shocking really. They couldn’t see where they were headed. The first management group, they thought they understood and wanted to get involved in buying footballers, but they didn’t have the knowledge to buy footballers, you know, so they went in the marketplace, spraying money around and it was just random, wasn’t it?

“I wouldn’t have tolerated Ed Woodward or Richard Arnold. Richard was a rugby man, he didn’t even understand football. Ed didn’t have the credentials to manage the club. He was a merchant banker, an accountant. He wasn’t the chief executive.”