Jim Ratcliffe flies in to watch Man United at Aston Villa with severe pressure on Erik Ten Hag

Manchester United minority owner Jim Ratcliffe has flown in to personally watch the team play Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday as the pressure mounts on manager Erik ten Hag.

Ratcliffe took his seat at Villa Park alongside United’s new leadership team of chief executive Omar Berrada, technical director Jason Wilcox, sporting director Dan Ashworth as well as Dave Brailsford, a key figure at Ratcliffe’s Ineos Sport.

Present in Barcelona on Friday for the win by INEOS Britannia that earned the yacht a spot in the America’s Cup finals, Ratcliffe gave an interview there with the BBC in which he declined to say he had faith in Ten Hag.

Instead, the British billionaire, who bought a 27.7% stake in the 20-time English champion in February, said the decision over Ten Hag’s future rested in the hands of the executive he has put in place to run the club.

United started the match against Villa in 14th place in the 20-team Premier League, having lost three of its opening six games.