EDGE OF THE CLIFFE

Sir Jim sees the dangers at first hand and now knows size of the task he faces in his £1.25billion project to turn around United

- DAVID MCDONNELL

SIR Jim Ratcliffe should have known not to tempt fate with this current Manchester United side.

"We normally do well against Spurs," said Ratcliffe before Sunday's 2-2 draw, echoing Sir Alex Ferguson's infamously dismissive "Lads, it's Tottenham pre-match team talk.

Yet when a team has lost almost half of its matches, you cannot take anything for granted, as Ratcliffe discovered at his first game since making his £1.25billion investment.

A couple of hours before kickoff at Old Trafford, Ratcliffe conducted a meet and greet with the media, citing the need for his investment to be ratified by the Premier League before he could speak candidly about the challenge ahead.

But over the course of the match, the 71-year-old boyhood United fan, sitting alongside Ferguson in the directors' box (right), saw first-hand the size of the task that awaits him when he is granted control of football operations next month.

Lucrative contracts handed to those who are not worthy of them has fostered a culture of complacency which has exacerbated United's demise

Ratcliffe saw what United fans have endured for too long this season consistently inconsistent, a side one incapable of controlling games and with no discernible identity or style.