Sir Alex Ferguson sees Man United playbook borrowed by Jim Ratcliffe as owner sets bullish title timeline

The new co-owner of Manchester United Sir Jim Ratcliffe has promised to knock rivals Manchester City and Liverpool "off their perch" in the next three years.

The 71 year old, who has been a fan of the club since he was six, recently bought a 27.7% stake in the club, giving his company Ineos control over football operations. Ratcliffe plans to challenge City and Liverpool for domestic and European trophies, echoing the famous words of United's legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

However, he has asked fans to be patient, saying it will take at least two or three seasons for Ineos to get the club where he wants it to be. Ferguson famously said in 2002 that his "greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their f*****g perch", and later referred to City as the "noisy neighbours". Looking ahead, Ratcliffe hopes to work with the public sector to either build a new £2billion stadium to revitalise the area around Old Trafford, which could host England games and FA Cup finals, or refurbish the existing site for £1b.

"We have a lot to learn from our noisy neighbour and the other neighbour (Liverpool). They are the enemy at the end of the day," Ratcliffe said. "There is nothing I would like better than to knock both of them off their perch. Equally, we are the three great northern clubs who are very close to one another.

"They have been in a good place for a while and there are things we can learn from both of them. They have sensible organisations, great people within the organisations, a good, driven and elite environment that they work in. I am very respectful of them but they are still the enemy."

When asked about how long it might take for United to become truly competitive, Ratcliffe said: "It's not a light