Confirmed : Manchester United new manager arrives , new era begins .

 Manchester United football director John

 Murtough says a "thorough process" is 

under way to find their next permanent 

manager as the club looks to start challenging

 for "top trophies" again.

This has been another challenging season

 at Old Trafford, with a top-four finish 

the best they can hope for domestically 

and the Champions League remaining their

 only route to silverware.

United have been working under interim

 manager Ralf Rangnick since December,

 when the German succeeded Ole Gunnar

 Solskjaer after a poor start to the campaign

 and a number of chastening defeats.

Murtough has been heartened by the "

improved results" as they look to secure

 Champions League qualification at a time

 when the hunt for the next permanent

 manager is ongoing.

'' We know that consistency is key as we 

strive for a top-four finish this season

," Murtough said.

"I want to reiterate however that this is 

not the ultimate objective for Manchester

 United, and everyone at the club is focused

 on challenging for the top trophies.

"We are now conducting a thorough 

process for the appointment of a new 

permanent manager who will take charge

 this summer, with the objective to get 

us back to challenging for those domestic 

and European titles."

Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio 

Pochettino and Ajax coach Erik ten Hag 

are among the favourites to permanently

 succeed Solskjaer at a club that Murtough 

believes are on the right track.

The football director said the women's 

team are "enjoying a strong campaign"

 under Marc Skinner, with work having 

begun to recruit a Head of Women's Football

, while he flagged United's recent appointment

 of a Director of Data Science.

Murtough told investors: "Overall,

 while there is potential for further 

improvement and progress, we do feel 

that we now have the right structures 

in place across our men's, women's and 

academy teams to support long-term 

success and we will continue working 

relentlessly and investing to achieve that."

Arnold on fostering 'culture of excellence'

Richard Arnold echoed Murtough's sentiments

 as the chief executive commented publicly

 for the first time since taking up the 

role on February 1, when executive vice

-chairman Ed Woodward departed.

"Everyone associated with Manchester 

United should have belief in the opportunities

 that lie ahead of us, both on the pitch 

and in the way we engage and serve our 

fans," he said.

"We have a clear vision and we are 

implementing a strategy to win with 

an empowered leadership team to drive

 that forward.

"We will foster a culture of excellence 

through a world-class football environment, 

while strengthening the role of fans at 

the heart of the club and harnessing the

 power of Manchester United to make a 

positive impact on people, the environment

 and society.

"All of this will be supported by a sustainable

 operating model that ensures the club 

is strong for the present and secure for the future."

Post-COVID recovery underway

 with revenues up 7.3 per cent

United's second quarter results for fiscal 

2022 showed the club paid £10m in 

"exceptional items", which included compensation

 to former manager Solskjaer and certain

 members of the coaching staff.

That figure also took into account 

a revaluation of the Football League 

pension scheme deficit.

The results show an operating profit

 of £5.4million for the quarter, with revenue

 up to £185.4m - a 7.3 per cent uptick 

on the same period last year.

United's net debt has increased to £494.

8m - an increase of 8.6 per cent - and player

 wages were up 19.6 per cent to £97.

7m "over the prior year quarter due to 

investment in the first team playing squad".

Fletcher defends Man Utd's set-

piece record

Manchester United coach Darren Fletcher

 has clarified his technical director role 

and addressed set-piece criticism following

 the appointment of specialist Eric Ramsay.

Harry Maguire recently ended the club's

 unwanted goal drought from corners, 

scoring on their 139th attempt in the 4-2 

win against Leeds at Elland Road.

But Fletcher defended Ramsay's influence

, claiming he had been brought in primarily

 to improve the team's deficiencies at 

defending set pieces.

Speaking at a fans' forum at Old Trafford

, Fletcher has praised the club's new set-

piece coach for his impact already since 

taking up the role.

"People only give the one narrative about

 scoring from set pieces," the former 

midfielder said.

"The biggest reason Eric was brought in 

was because we were conceding too many

 goals from set pieces. We have really 

improved our defending from set pieces and

 wide free-kicks this season. Eric is a fantastic

 coach."

Fletcher, who came through the ranks 

of United's Youth Academy and spent 20 

years with United, making 342 appearances

 for the club, was appointed technical 

director a year ago with Murtough as 

football director.

His role has been questioned due to 

his matchday role in assisting interim 

manager Ralf Rangnick, a duty not typically

 associated with technical directors.

The Scot made clear at the fans' forum 

that his main responsibility lies in developing

 academy talent for the first team.

Fletcher added: "With Ralf and his staff 

coming in, and Michael and Kieran choosing

 to move on, we had a quick transition 

process, so part of my role has been to 

assist with that, both on the training pitch 

and during games.

"I guess that's been the most visible part

 for me this season, but that's really an 

addition to my overall Technical Director role.

"Probably the key part of the role is taking 

a holistic view of the path for players from

 our Academy to our First Team. That pipeline

 of Academy talent is a massive part of 

who we are as a club.

"Anthony [Elanga] has done brilliantly

 since he broke into the first team, and 

Hannibal Mejbri has also been more involved

 in the squad.

"Our U19s recently finished top of their

 group in the UEFA Youth League, and our 

U18s have reached the semi-finals of the

 FA Youth Cup.

"I'm working closely with Nick Cox, as 

Head of Academy, to look at the long-term 

strategy for bringing players through.

"We have to manage the balance between 

allowing them to develop and creating 

the right steps for that, without piling the

 pressure onto them.

"Along with Nick, I'm looking at how

 we best use the loan system to give Academy 

players invaluable experience at other clubs.

"We currently have 13 young players 

and Academy products on loan and playing

 regularly in other divisions or leagues.

"Hopefully we'll see players like Brandon

 Williams, Teden Mengi, Jimmy Garner, 

Ethan Laird, Tahiti Chong, and Diallo

 reap the benefits of that.

"All of them are doing really well on loan

 and we're excited to bring them back in 

pre-season to see how they fare with 

our first team players.

"It's been a brilliant experience since I 

took on the role, and the combination of long

-term planning and contributing to our 

strategic goals, with the opportunity to still 

be close to the team and management, 

makes it a unique role."