ETH insists he 'doesn't care' about job amid claims Ratcliffe wants a new boss

Erik ten Hag insists he doesn’t need a public vote of confidence from new Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe as his future at Old Trafford hangs in the balance.

United go to Nottingham Forest in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday hoping to keep alive their last hope of a trophy this season.

Ten Hag’s side then face Manchester City in the Etihad derby on Sunday desperate for a win to revive their bid for Champions League qualification following last weekend’s shock defeat to Fulham.

Ratcliffe gave a lukewarm response to questions over Ten Hag’s future after completing his £1.3billion investment last week, but the United manager believes he has the backing of his new boss.

‘So I'm here. I'm under contract for three seasons, so I don't care,’ said Ten Hag.

‘I’m only focusing on the process, so I don't care what's going on around me. I have many talks with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, also with Sir Dave Brailsford and others in that group, so I know where we are and I feel that they believe in me.

‘I know what I'm doing. Consistently we have talks, and we're talking about the future together.

‘If you talk about one defeat and the manager's position is in discussion, I think it's quite opportune after two months without a defeat. I can't take it seriously.

‘It would be a problem when the leadership in this group has this approach or, internally, the others would have this approach, but that's not the case. We are together there.

‘It's not about me. I'm not focusing on my personal circumstances, I'm just focusing on the team. It's all about focusing on that and don't get distracted by any noise.’

Of all Ten Hag’s transfer dealings, the £86million paid to his old club Ajax for Antony is likely to give Ratcliffe and Brailsford