Ten Hag had been handed a contract extension in the summer after a post-season review before being sacked in October.

“I know we get criticism in the press but we do need to challenge the cost of running this club because what I want to be free for us to do is buy really good footballers, not spend so much of the money on infrastructure,” he said.

“We can’t run a business at a loss, which is where United have been in the last couple of years. If you are losing money you have to borrow from the bank to pay for the losses. Eventually that becomes unsustainable.”

Ratcliffe’s part-purchase of United, announced on Christmas Eve last year, was welcomed by almost all supporters in the belief he had to be an upgrade on the unpopular Glazer family.

The Americans have handed over virtually all of the football-related decision-making to Ratcliffe and his team, which now includes chief executive Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox.

That means the Ineos owner is moving on with talks over potentially building a new stadium, although a decision on that has been pushed into 2025.

It also means he is taking the flak for the unpopular calls he is having to make.

The ticket price hike is the latest.

Ratcliffe feels it had to be done, even though he accepts many match-going supporters are from working class parts of Manchester and do not have huge amounts of disposable income.

“I understand that,” he said. “I was brought up on a council estate in Manchester.

“I don’t want to end up in a position where the genuine local fans can’t afford to come but I do want to optimise the ticketing.

“We need to find a balance – and you can’t be popular all the time either. Here, we are talking about 3% of the tickets.

“I don’t think it makes sense for a Manchester United ticket to cost less than a ticket to see Fulham.”