Dan Ashworth's four criteria which will decide Erik ten Hag's Man United fate

Sir Jim Ratcliffe may not have been in the mood to discuss Manchester United's woes on Friday especially when one of his other sporting ventures had just completed an impressive feat.

Ineos Britannia's progression to the final of the America's Cup is a big achievement for British sport and will be even more momentous if they beat Emirates Team New Zealand. However, this glory is a far cry from what is happening at Old Trafford presently.

Unsurprising therefore that Ratcliffe tried to divert the conversation away from United when asked by BBC Sport's Dan Roan about Ten Hag's future. The Ineos founder did acknowledge though that the decision was not going to be made by himself but rather those he has appointed at Old Trafford.

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Dan Ashworth and Omar Berrada were both namedropped in the response and on the surface that should read as good news for Ten Hag. Both men have gone on record this season to back the manager but that was before heavy defeats to Liverpool and Tottenham and unconvincing draws to FC Twente and Porto.

As the sporting director, you would imagine Ashworth would have a weighted say on what happens next. Looking back at his column with The Coaches' Voices while at Brighton having recently departed the England set-up, four criteria stood out as to what Ashworth wants from his head coach and these could be used as the litmus test to decide whether or not Ten Hag stays.

Firstly, Ashworth spoke about creating a DNA at a football club which starts in the boardroom but must be replicated by the head coach. The example he gave was Brighton's preference of wanting defenders who