Erik ten Hag has revealed details about the 'confrontational' discussions he had with Sir Jim Ratcliffe after discovering that the Manchester United executive had approached potential candidates to replace him.
After presiding over the Red Devils' worst Premier League campaign ever, the Dutchman was believed to be on the brink of being sacked at the end of last season.
However, he turned things around by leading the team to an unexpected FA Cup final victory against cross-town rivals Manchester City.
Despite finishing the tumultuous season on a high note, United's key decision-makers delayed their decision before granting Ten Hag a third season in charge.
In fact, there were widespread reports indicating that Ratcliffe and his revamped board held talks with several potential replacements, including former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel.
© Reuters
Ten Hag lifts lid on details of discussion with Ratcliffe
After weeks of speculation, the INEOS chief determined that the best course of action was to retain Ten Hag and conveyed this decision to the 54-year-old during a tense summit meeting in Ibiza.
Ten Hag has now lifted the lid on the details discussed at the meeting, telling Dutch outlet AD: "The communication did break down. But I just celebrated holidays with my loved ones and I let things come to me. I have no influence on that anyway.
"It's that simple and I'm level-headed enough to look at it that way. The argument they gave was in a short summary - we looked at everything and put it next to each other and we think we already have the best manager in-house.
"Then I did say: then we need to discuss some things, about how we interact and collaborate. We had a good, honest, but also confrontational conversation about that. As it should be at the top."
He added: "I gave my vision of the season, on the situation at United. And I indicated which path we should take in my opinion. You have to be very honest with each other about that. And then it's about: do you come together or not? I also told them: If you think this is not the way, then we should just part ways."
During last season, Ten Hag also had to contend with numerous injury setbacks as well as major off-field problems concerning Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho and Antony.
© Reuters
Man United pushing ahead with summer transfer plans
Having given the Dutchman the vote of confidence and bringing in the likes of Dan Ashworth and Omar Berrada this summer, United have made significant progress in setting up a solid back-office team ahead of the new season.
The club have also brought in former Man United star Ruud van Nistelrooy to join Rene Hake as Ten Hag's assistant managers for the foreseeable future.
With the behind-the-scenes structure now seemingly in place, the Red Devils are pushing ahead with their summer transfer plans and have already confirmed the signings of Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro.
United are also believed to be in advanced talks with Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte and Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt, though interest in the latter may diminish after the club reportedly shelled out around £52m plus add-ons for Yoro from Lille.
There are also several players that have been linked with moves away from Old Trafford this summer, including the likes of Casemiro, Antony and Christian Eriksen.
Devesh Jaganath
