TEN HAG IS STAYING... BUT JURY'S STILL OUT ON WAY SIR JIM WORKS

SO, Manchester United fans, how is the Sir Jim Ratcliffe era going for you? Four months in and there is an impressive FA Cup triumph in the memory bank, so that is good.

And Erik ten Hag - who, generally, seems to be a popular figure is staying at the club, for now.

But the way Ratcliffe went about reaching the decision to reprieve Ten Hag - sounding out other coaches first - was typical of much of what he has done and said in his short time in charge of football operations at Old Trafford.

Unconvincing.

As well as taking over the football operation, Ratcliffe (right, at Wembley with Sir Alex Ferguson behind) seems to have taken over the beancounting operation, cutting back on staff perks and offering redundancy packages. Yet, in an interview with Bloomberg - a news agency specialising in business and the financial markets Monaco Jim has bemoaned the fact that United have got "more accountants than we have sporting people".

Being a tax exile, you might have thought accountants would have been right up his street.