Graham Potter's warning to Sir Jim Ratcliffe amid Manchester United manager speculation

There is some irony in that Chelsea are the only side to have made Manchester United look good in recent games amid national media speculation Graham Potter could replace Erik ten Hag in the top job at Old Trafford. However, that mooted appointment comes with a clear warning for Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

United have not been at the races this season. Far from it, in fact.

They were dumped out of Europe in midweek and remain some way off the pace when it comes to fading Premier League ambitions, too, even though Ten Hag watched his Jekyll and Hyde team carve Potter's old employers apart without putting them to the sword during a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford less than 10 days ago.

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In the week-and-a-half that followed, though, United were humbled by Bournemouth and sentenced to a season without the tongue-in-cheek luxury that is Thursday night football. United were not even good enough to claim a place in the supplementary Europa League and they have, arguably, gone backwards this season.

Of course, there are mitigating circumstances for that, not least ongoing injury woes and uncertainty behind-the-scenes with INEOS yet to formalise their £1.25billion investment. How the minority takeover impacts things on the pitch remains to be seen, although one thing that is clear is that Ratcliffe will want to have a major say.

But has the 71-year-old seen enough in the midst of that doom and gloom to say Ten Hag is the right manager for him and his INEOS-backed project? In truth, the Dutchman can only be properly judged under football-first owners and the former Ajax manager has by no means had that at Old