Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Manchester United plan is in danger of falling a year behind schedule

Until Manchester United's hopes of finishing inside the top four this season are mathematically over, Erik ten Hag will not give up on the fight.

Last weekend's 3-1 reverse to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium has left them 11 points shy of the top four with just 11 games to play. They are not in a position where they are requiring snookers just yet, but they are teetering ever so close.

The prospect of missing out on a top four finish and the prize of Champions League qualification that comes with it will be another mark against Ten Hag's hopes of keeping his job. The Dutchman is already under mounting pressure and failure to secure qualification for Europe's premier club competition for next season is only likely to further convince Ineos to pull the trigger.

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Next season, of course, will signal the beginning of a new dawn at Old Trafford. Sir Jim Ratcliffe secured his 27.7 per cent investment in the club last month and he has grand ambitions to take the club back to the heights of yesteryear.

Big changes are expected to be made in the summer transfer window, both in terms of incomings and outgoings, meaning United need to have as many strings attached to their bow as possible. The potential absence of Champions League football within their sales pitch, however, will be damaging.

It is the competition, as Ten Hag said so himself last May, that every player wants to play in. It is the most lucrative club competition that players want to participate in and try to win. United will immediately be on the back foot if they cannot offer that