Sir Jim Ratcliffe has admitted that it could potentially take a long time before Man United are able to rope in Dan Ashworth as their new director of football.
After running the London Marathon, he was asked about the comparisons between doing that and turning things around at Old Trafford. He replied: “There are some parallels. It just requires some grit.
“In the marathon after the 30k it gets quite difficult and I don't think we're quite at 30k in the football at the minute. We're not even [at a half marathon] yet either. We're probably at 10k.
“One of the biggest problems in football is getting these new guys to come into the team but they're all on gardening leave, so it takes you 6, 12 or even 18 months before they come in. It's a real issue in football. To make a change you need to bring new people in.
“They can't work for us and the fans are impatient and I knew that but it's a journey and people, whether they like it or not, have to be patient. It's not a sprint we can't just turn it around like that but I'm sure we will.”
It’s clear that Sir Jim is growing annoyed with how long the Dan Ashworth appointment is really taking and wants to get that resolved before the summer window.
However, it could actually take Man United up to another year to appoint him as Ashworth’s gardening leave at Newcastle only ends in 2025.
