Sir Jim Ratcliffe considers bold Man Utd U-turn after ditching Dan Ashworth

Manchester United are still pondering the best course of action after sacking Dan Ashworth just five months after his arrival at Old Trafford.

Ashworth left the club at the start of December, officially by mutual consent, but Mirror Football understands he was sacked after clashing with senior figures. The 53-year-old was dismissed with tensions mounting behind the scenes – principally over the appointment of Ruben Amorim.

Ashworth preferred the appointment of Thomas Frank or Gareth Southgate and clashed with chief executive Omar Berrada and others as United’s results failed to improve. His exit has eased those tensions, but has also left the club with a major decision to make.

Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox, who like Ashworth were both hired this year by the new INEOS hierarchy, have taken on more responsibility for the time being. Former Manchester City executive Berrada is the man tasked with deciding what happens next – and the Daily Mail reports that there is plenty of uncertainty at the moment.

United had previously decided that they didn’t need a direct replacement for Ashworth – just months after they paid £3million in compensation to Newcastle to end a bitter feud over his departure. And it is now reported that Berrada is considering the remit of any new executive appointment, suggesting that the club might move for a lower-ranked hire alongside a reshuffle of the structure.

United are not in a rush to replace Ashworth, having perhaps reflected upon their decision to pay Newcastle for his services earlier this year, only to discover he isn’t the right fit.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is desperate to get things moving in the right direction following a tumultuous first 10 months at United. Ratcliffe has made it clear that he is ready to take difficult and controversial decisions to turn around the ship, but there have been few signs of success yet.

After carrying out an assessment, Ratcliffe slashed 250 jobs at United, making himself very unpopular among some of the remaining staff. But the petrochemicals billionaire is unlikely to care, considering his mission to improve his boyhood club.

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

"Manchester United has become mediocre," he told the United We Stand fanzine recently. "It is supposed to be one of the best football clubs in the world. We have to make some difficult and unpopular decisions. If you shy away from the difficult decisions, then nothing much is going to change.”

Ratcliffe told Belgian newspaper De Tijd earlier this year: “We have to look at the organisation of the club because it is not good at the moment. Take the head coach, for example, he must report directly to the CEO. That is no longer possible in a modern football organisation.

“We have to ensure that the right people end up in the right positions. Every person in management must be world-class. And then it is important to create a positive, supportive, friendly and high-quality environment. That culture was missing before.”

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