Man United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe 'will fly in for crunch Aston Villa clash on Sunday' in match which could define Erik ten Hag's Old Trafford tenure as pressure grows after dramatic draw with Porto

Sir Jim Ratcliffe will reportedly be attendance for Manchester United's Premier League clash against Aston Villa as pressure continues to mount on Erik ten Hag. 

The Dutchman was spared the ignominy of a comeback loss in the first of his do-or-die games on Thursday night, when Harry Maguire's late header rescued a point in a 3-3 draw against Porto. 

United had led 2-0 after 20 minutes but surrendered their advantage before the break. Ten Hag's worst fears were realised when Samu Omorodion scored his second of the night to put the home side ahead. 

But fortunately for him - and the Red Devils' European ambitions - Maguire's late effort salvaged a draw. 

The result in Portugal heaps even more pressure on the clash at Villa Park, which will be observed by United's footballing chief. 

According to The Mirror, Ratcliffe will be flying to the UK for the match in the west Midlands. The minority shareholder has often been spotted at United games at Old Trafford since competing the purchase of his minority stake. 

United will be facing a Villa side buoyed by their famous win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Unai Emery's men secured a repeat of Villa's 1982 European Cup final win over the same opponents thanks to Jhon Duran's wonderstrike. 

After United's draw at the Dragao: 'We need to be better on the ball, keep switching. We had good players, a good plan. We have to defend better. We had three clean sheets not a long time ago so we can defend very good, but we have to go back to those habits.

'We will get there. Don't judge us in this moment, judge us at the end of the season. We are in the process, we will improve. We have had two seasons where we have reached finals, we will continue and fight.

'You see the spirit and the connection between the staff and the team. The players are together, they have a strong spirit and they want to achieve. We have a good mentality but in some defending parts we have to step up.'

United are reportedly standing by the under-fire boss but in the aftermath of the Spurs debacle legends of the club, including Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand, spoke out to give scathing criticisms of the 54-year-old.

Earlier this week, former assistant McCarthy joined the bandwagon claiming Ten Hag 'lacks a bit of that fire, that passion' in an astonishing assessment of the manager.

Ahead of United's dramatic 3-3 draw with Porto, the Dutch boss hit back at his ex-colleague and stoically defended his record at the club in an interview with TNT Sports.

He said: 'I don't know what he means. When you win trophies, you can't do this without passion and desire.'

McCarthy was asked by Portuguese publication ZEROZERO this week why United have struggled to be more competitive in games. The 46-year-old's response was telling.

'In modern football, I believe that players want to see a bit more passion in their coach,' McCarthy said.

'They need to feel that the coach is with them and willing to fight alongside them.  

'Tactically, I feel that Erik is at the top. He lacks a bit of that fire, that passion. 

'That's where we differ, him and I.'