Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has denied rumours of a trust crisis between him and head coach Ruben Amorim in an exclusive interview with The Times on Wednesday, stating that he was "willing to give him three years to make changes and prove himself."

According to the report, despite dissatisfaction among outsiders and some fans with the club's situation, Amorim should be given ample time within the three-year term of his contract to prove he is the "promising coach" he was initially considered to be.

He also defended the club's largest shareholder, the Glazer Family, insisting that everything they and he have done over the years, including the massive layoffs and the elimination of the free lunch policy, was for Manchester United's long-term financial benefit.

Sir Ratcliffe said: "Operating costs are simply too high. Manchester United has some great people, but also some mediocre ones, and the staffing has become bloated. I received a lot of criticism for eliminating the free lunches, but no one ever gave me a free lunch."

"A football team is made up of two parts - The business side and the sporting side."

"Whether you like it or not, the biggest correlation between results and any external factors is profitability. The more cash you have, the stronger your squad can be. It's like Formula One: the better the car you build, the faster it goes."

"The same is true in football: the better your squad, the better your football should be. So we invested a lot of time in our first year to get the club on a sustainable, healthy path."

"If you look at our results last year, we had our highest revenue ever and our second-highest profitability ever."

"We haven't seen all the benefits of the restructuring in this set of results, and we haven't qualified for the Champions League yet. Those numbers will only get better."

"In my opinion, Manchester United will be the most profitable club in the world, and I hope that will lead to long-term, sustainable, high-level football."

"I remember in Sir Alex Ferguson's first two years, people were clamoring for him to be sacked."

"Look at Mikel Arteta at Arsenal; his first few years were terrible."

"Ultimately, we're results-oriented, but we have to be patient and see results. I think Manchester United has a lot of strengths, and we have to be patient. We have a long-term plan. It's not a temporary plan."

"Ruben Amorim needs to prove he's a good coach in three years."

"Yes. I'd keep him there for three years, because football isn't something you build overnight."

Meanwhile, The Athletic had denied online rumours that Sir Ratcliffe had quietly begun talks with Gareth Southgate.

The report stated that Sir Ratcliffe admired the former England manager, but no contact had taken place since the rumour began circulating last year, and Amorim still enjoyed the trust of the Red Devils management.

Although there were rumours claiming that Oliver Glasner had been tipped as his successor, The Athletic also denied the report.

Reports indicate that the Crystal Palace head coach's current situation is similar to Southgate's.

Manchester United's 2-0 victory over Sunderland before the international break temporarily silenced calls for Amorim's dismissal, but this doesn't mean the former Sporting CP head coach is immune from criticism.

The Premier League giants will face defending champions Liverpool after the break. It remains to be seen whether the Red Devils can capitalize on their victory to overcome the slumping Reds.