Under-fire Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag: I 'don't care' if I get public future guarantee from Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Ten Hag's future at Manchester United appears uncertain amid a poor season for the Red Devils, and following the arrival of Ratcliffe after his partial takeover with INEOS. A dismal defeat to Fulham last time out has left United eight points off the top four, bringing a fresh wave of uncertainty about Ten Hag's position. However, the Dutchman is in defiant mood and says he is not concerned that Ratcliffe is yet to state publicly he will stay on.

Asked about guarantees about his future, he said: "I'm under contract for three seasons, so I don't care. I am in this process, I'm only focusing on the process, so I don't care what's going on around me. I have many talks with Sir Jim Radcliffe, also with Sir Dave Brailsford and others in that group, so I know where we are talking about and I have a strong belief and I feel that they believe in me."

Ten Hag also insisted he was not concerned about speculation over his future at the club.

"I'm not focusing on my personal circumstances. I'm just focusing on the team and I have to find solutions for this team so that they perform in the best way they can. It's all about focusing on that and don't get distracted by any noise or whatever," he added.

"If you talk about one defeat and the manager's position is in discussion, I think it's quite opportune after two months without a defeat. I can't pick something from this, I can't take it seriously. I have to stay focused again on the team and on the team's performance."

Ratcliffe has already been busy making changes at United. He has raided rivals Manchester City for CEO Omar Berrada and is keen to add Dan Ashworth as the club's new sporting director. It remains to be seen if Ratcliffe will also decide to change the team's manager, but Ten Hag does appear to be fighting to save his job in the final months of the current campaign.

Manchester United and Ten Hag will aim to bounce back from the defeat to Fulham when they come up against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday. The two teams face off in the fifth round of the FA Cup at the City Ground, with another defeat likely to pile more pressure on the United manager.