Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Manchester United three-year plan and why Erik ten Hag will have to play new style

Sir Jim Ratcliffe insists Manchester United's new power brokers will settle on a style of play that the coach will have to execute as part of a three-year plan.

United's form under manager Erik ten Hag has improved of late, with five successive wins, yet they remain reliant on counter-attacks and have failed to master the controlling style Ten Hag was appointed to implement.

In a briefing with journalists at the Ineos office in Knightsbridge, Ratcliffe suggested Ineos sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford, incoming chief executive Omar Berrada and potential sporting director Dan Ashworth would agree on a specific style that any United coach would be expected to embrace.

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The Ineos chairman also outlined a three-year plan to restore United as an eminent force in English and European football.

"We’re still debating what precisely is the style of football we want to play," Ratcliffe told journalists. "Look at Manchester City. All 11 clubs play to the same formula and we need to do that. You want Manchester United types of players.

"Attacking football. Exciting football. Bringing the youth through. You want players that are committed, that play 90 minutes, or 100 or whatever the number is. We like youth, the academy is really important for Manchester United.

"We’ll decide, that team of people, it’ll be us, plus the CEO, sporting director, probably the recruitment guys what the style of football is and that will be the Manchester United style of football. And the coach will have to play that style.

"We’re not going to oscillate from Mourinho style to Guardiola style. That’s not the way we’ll run the club. Otherwise