Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the minority owner of Manchester United, has signaled his support for under-pressure head coach Ruben Amorim, stating he will not make any "knee-jerk" decisions regarding his future. Amorim, who is approaching his first anniversary as manager on November 1st, has faced intense scrutiny following a disappointing run of results.

Manchester United finished a lowly 15th in the Premier League last season, their worst top-flight finish since 1974. They were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League Two side Grimsby in August. Furthermore, Amorim has twice publicly offered to resign if Ratcliffe and the club felt it was in the best interest of the club.

Despite the setbacks, Ratcliffe has publicly backed the 40-year-old Portuguese coach, stating that he needs to be given time to turn things around. Ratcliffe, whose Ineos company owns just under 30 percent of United and controls football operations since February 2024, has given Amorim a three-year period to prove himself. He referenced Mikel Arteta's initial struggles at Arsenal as a reason to avoid hasty judgments.

Speaking on The Business podcast, produced by The Times and The Sunday Times, Ratcliffe said, "He has not had the best of seasons. Ruben needs to demonstrate he is a great coach over three years. That's where I would be". He added, "You can't run a club like Manchester United on knee-jerk reactions to some journalist who goes off on one every week". Ratcliffe has complete control over the football operations at the club.

When asked what would happen if the Glazers, the majority owners, told him to sack Amorim, Ratcliffe responded, "It's not going to happen". He further explained that the Glazers are content with him taking charge, highlighting the advantage of his local presence compared to their location "the other side of the pond". He also defended the Glazers, describing them as "really nice people" who are "really passionate about the club".

Ratcliffe has faced criticism for implementing cost-cutting measures, including axing around 450 jobs and removing subsidized staff lunches. He defended these decisions, stating that the club's costs were too high and there was a level of mediocrity. He emphasized the importance of profitability for building a better squad. "The more cash you have got, the better squad you can build". Ratcliffe believes the benefits of the restructuring will become apparent over time.