Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell believes Manchester United need to implement a clear blueprint over the next five years if they are to close the gap to their rivals.
United have gone five years without winning any silverware and finished sixth in the Premier League last season with a club-record low points tally. The Red Devils have pressed the reset button by appointing Erik ten Hag as the new manager following a dismal campaign overseen by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.
The Dutchman is facing a difficult task to turn things around, with Liverpool and Manchester City streets ahead, both on and off the pitch. The former Ajax manager may be able to implement his playing philosophy, but Mitchell has suggested there needs to be some top-down direction from the likes of chief executive Richard Arnold and football director John Murtough.
"We are a long time from the Sir Alex Ferguson era," he told Sky Sports. "Eric ten Hag is a top coach from Ajax but they need a top blueprint not only for now but for the next five years, and work towards that, and sometimes on that journey there are hard moments when you don't get the right results, even though you're doing the right things.
"You have to know that, over that period, the consistency of the decision-making will yield a good end result. I think we've seen that both Manchester City and Liverpool, that when you adopt that long-term strategy you can get real consistency and sustainable success.
"I think that's the biggest thing for Manchester United; putting down their identity of what they want to be today, but most crucially what they want to be in five years' time, and where they want to be, and what they want to look like; from everything from young players, to the style of play, to the whole culture peace in Manchester United."
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Mitchell has worked at MK Dons, Southampton and Tottenham on player recruitment and has built up a reputation for canny work in the transfer market. The 40-year–old also worked closely with Rangnick at RB Leipzig as head of recruitment and remains “good friends” with the former United interim boss.
He has defended Rangnick’s disastrous spell at Old Trafford, insisting he would have been successful if he had been given a long-term project, instead of a fire-fighting role.
"His remit was really short-term, winning and getting Manchester United into a rhythm to try and get them in the Champions League,” Mitchell said. “The Premier League doesn't often give time and patience, and it comes with a ferocious rhythm and working demands.”
Mitchell was born in Manchester and was linked with becoming United’s technical director earlier this year. He has been with Monaco for two years, but admitted earlier this summer that he is interested in returning to the Premier League in the future.
