SIR JIM RATCLIFFE was spot on to publicly back Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim.
That is the view of former Old Trafford favourite Wes Brown ahead of the Red Devils’ huge Premier League clash at Liverpool on Sunday.
United co-owner Ratcliffe has been far from popular among fans, with ticket prices hiked and hundreds of jobs cut since the Ineos chief became a minority owner almost two years ago.
But Brown — who won five Premier League titles and two Champions League crowns before leaving in 2011 — hailed Ratcliffe for publicly stating he wants to give struggling boss Amorim “three years” to prove himself.
Brown, 46, said: “It was the right thing to do and a good thing.
“Going forward, especially going to Anfield, everybody now understands that the manager has the full backing of the hierarchy.
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“Now everybody can sort of relax on that. Ratcliffe’s backing takes a bit of pressure off and cuts the noise.
“If anybody had any negativity towards Amorim then that statement blocks it out.
“The team needed that.
“There’s been a lot of pressure on Amorim but the owners have come out and pretty much said, ‘No, he’s our guy, we like what he’s doing and we’re going to stick with him’.
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“That’s always a good thing to settle things down. It stops the negative noise.”
Brown made 362 appearances for United and spent nearly 20 years at the club having come up through the academy.
And he is also impressed by new keeper Senne Lammens, signed from Royal Antwerp for £18.2 million.
The Belgian, 23, heads to Anfield with only one United game under his belt but 23-cap former England defender Brown told Freebets.com: “I liked what I saw against Sunderland.
“He came in with good spirit, good confidence and everything he did was fine. It was something we’ve needed for a while to settle things down.
“There was a calmness about his work and you could feel that in the crowd too. He looked commanding.
“I played with Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar and what stood out about them was their dominance.
“Without getting over-excited about Lammens he brought those qualities in that one game against Sunderland.
“He had real confidence and let’s hope he keeps it up at Anfield.
“Having a keeper you know you can rely on changes so much — the team plays with more freedom, takes up better positions with the ball.
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“There have been too many mistakes in this team — not just from keepers but defenders.
“A calm, dominant keeper brings calmness. On the evidence I’ve seen Lammens can finally sort things out.”