Ten Hag backs Manchester United to claim top titles in Ratcliffe | structure Manchester United

Erik ten Hag has said Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s new Manchester United set-up has put the club in a very strong position to “attack” the challenge of winning the Premier League and European titles.

Ratcliffe became United’s largest minority owner in February, taking control of football policy, with owner Ineos appointing Dan Ashworth as sporting director and Jason Wilcox as technical director.

United’s last championship was 11 years ago and next season they are in the Europa League after finishing lowest in the Premier League in eighth place. Although Ten Hag hinted that a credible title challenge may not happen in the near term, he welcomed the new structure.

“With the new owner coming in, they can help us,” he said. “They are very supportive. We have achieved a process, which we have built over the summer and we are in a very strong position to go and attack.”

Last season’s FA Cup triumph followed the Ten Hag guiding United to Carabao Cup victory in the opening campaign and it’s clear the squad can improve.

“A lot, because we’ve won an FA Cup, we’ve won a Carabao Cup, but we also have high expectations,” the manager told MUTV. “We know it doesn’t come overnight – we have to work for it. We are very ambitious, so we have to raise our standards day by day and improve every day.

“We are for more and higher titles like the English title and even more like going into Europe. This is a process that takes time and we will work on it, but I know that with the fit-out of the club, the changes to the structure and the changes to the infrastructure here around Carrington (the training centre), we will be ready for the future. You feel it here, it gives a new energy, it gives a new dynamic and that will help us achieve our goals. In the short term, it remains the same: we want to win every game and we have seen that we are capable of beating everyone.”

Work at Carrington could last all of next season. “We really have something to look forward to and this will be the best training ground in English football, but the most important thing is now,” Ten Hag said. “We’re living today and they’ve done a great job of getting this facility up and running in a professional condition so we can work professionally. Four weeks ago it was chaotic here; now it’s set up so professionally.”