"I miss his support" - Erik ten Hag sends Ineos message about replacing John Murtough at Manchester United

Erik ten Hag has thanked John Murtough for all of the work he did for Manchester United and emphasised how important it is that the Ineos Group replace him adequately.

Murtough has stepped down from his role amid a number of planned structural changes by the Ineos Group after Sir Jim Ratcliffe secured a stake in the club. United plan to replace Murtough with the appointment of Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth, while the club are still in talks to appoint Southampton director of football Jason Wilcox as their technical director.  Despite being associated with a dismal decade of disappointment on the pitch, Murtough leaves United having helped reshape the first-team squad and playing a key role in the recent regeneration of the club’s illustrious academy. He also oversaw the creation of the club’s first professional women’s team in 2018, who went on to win the Championship in their first season and have since becoming a leading force in the WSL.

Ratcliffe and Joel Glazer both sent messages of good will to Murtough when his exit was officially announced this week, and Ten Hag agreed that he did a good job for the club.

Asked about the impact his exit would have on the club, the United manager said: “I think it's very important that the new ownership is working on this, to replace his function, to go into a new season. For the moment, of course, I miss his support, the surround support, you miss that. He has moved on, we worked very good together, I say thank you to John and wish him all the best for the future.”

When quizzed on whether or not the new structural would impact his own role at the club, he added: “No, for me, as I said previously, I work with the new ownership very good, closely together, it doesn't change the way I work here. perfect, still perfect, I am happy with that but we want to set the right conditions to be successful.”