Erik ten Hag insists he's the right man to lead Man United under Jim Ratcliffe

The British mogul purchased a 25 per cent share in the Red Devils on Christmas Eve, taking control of all sporting matters despite the Glazer family's majority share.

Ratcliffe and his team at INEOS will face a tough task to get the club back on track though, with a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest leaving them seventh in the Premier League going into 2024, with the club also the third-lowest scorers in the top flight.

Performances and results have been hugely inconsistent under Ten Hag this term with the club already eliminated from the Champions League and League Cup, meaning that the FA Cup remains their last realistic chance of silverware.

That has led to pressure landing on the Dutch boss's door, but despite that Ten Hag insists that he's the right man to get the team back on track.

Asked if he's the right man to lead Man United, Ten Hag said: "Of course.

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"But they (INEOS) know me and they know when I have a squad what is available the results will be there.

"We already proved against the top teams we can go head to head.

"I am convinced and have a strong belief we (can) get more progress, consistency in this team. This is part of a project.

"We were over performing last year, this year we are underperforming, we have to step up and I have to lead that process."

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While results have been poor, Ten Hag has been impacted by a significant number of injuries.

Rasmus Hojlund missed the trip to the City Ground through illness, while Luke Shaw, Sofyan Amrabat, Harry Maguire, Anthony Martial, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, Tyrell Malacia and Mason Mount were also absent.

Explaining their inconsistency, Ten Hag explained: "We always have to swap.

"(It) doesn't matter how we line up, we have to win, but the routines are not there and every time we have to swap.

"Today is another example. When Hojlund is ill, we have to swap our frontline and we have seen it in the first half there was no speed in the game there."

Man United are next in action on January 9 when they face Wigan Ahtletic in the FA Cup third round.