Ineos are dreaming of Manchester United succession plan but they need luck to make it a reality

If you were to hand Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford a blank sheet of paper and ask them to draw up their perfect Manchester United plan, you would get some intriguing answers.

Football club owners almost never get a clean slate to work with and that has been the case for Ratcliffe since his £1.25bn investment into United. He has made significant staff and structural changes since taking over, but there isn't a lot he can do about the squad or stadium he inherited.

The biggest decision facing Ineos remains over Erik ten Hag and the delay in concluding the end-of-season review is an indication that the outcome is no foregone conclusion. Ten Hag earned credit for the manner of the FA Cup final success and there is no outstanding candidate to come in and replace him.

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But if Ratcliffe and Brailsford could pick any manager they wanted right now, then the odds are that they would opt for Gareth Southgate. They admire him, he has a long-standing relationship with incoming sporting director Dan Ashworth and his work in developing a new culture around the England national team is considered relevant to what Ineos want at United.

The problems with that appointment are mainly two-fold. Firstly, he is preparing for an international tournament with England and won't consider his future until Euro 2024 is over. Secondly, United fans are underwhelmed by the idea and the majority still back Ten Hag.

So for now the Dutchman remains in post while Ineos consider whether to throw all their support behind him or seek an alternative replacement. It's an uneasy situation