Gary Neville has defended Sir Jim Ratcliffe after the Manchester United co-owner came out and addressed major issues that the club are faced with. The 72-year-old INEOS head sat down with Neville in London earlier this week, where he was probed by the former Red Devils star on his past 12 months at the club, covering topics such as a looming £1billion debt, recruitment and management decisions pertaining to the likes of Erik ten Hag and Dan Ashworth , and fan frustration as the club loiter in 14th in the Premier League table. And while many fans were discontent with Ratcliffe's answers during the almost hour-long chat on The Overlap , given the state that the club finds itself in, Neville himself was quick to defend Ratcliffe for the part that he has actually played in the grand scheme of things. Speaking on the It's Called Soccer podcast, the player-turned-pundit said: "A lot of the things that he was pointing towards like we're running out of cash, we've employed 500/600 people too many in the last five/six years – it's not him that's employed these people, it's not him that's run up these costs, it's not him that's drained the cash, it's not him that's put the debt on the club with all these horrific interest payments, it's not him that's recruited shockingly for the last 10 years and the point whereby we now owe £350million to other clubs. "All these things have been done before come in. Now, there's no doubt he's made some mistakes in that first 12 months since he's come in. "He admitted to the mistake around Erik ten Hag, he fronted up on the Dan Ashworth one and said, 'we just got it wrong and we just had to correct it quickly'. I like Dan, but if they think he's got it wrong at least he's fronted up and spoken about it." Despite finishing eighth in the Premier League last season, Ten Hag was handed a one-year contract extension in July, before the club ultimately sacked the Dutchman at the end of October after attaining just three wins from nine Premier League outings. Sporting director Ashworth, meanwhile, was taken from Newcastle United in July after a compensation fee was eventually agreed for around £3m, but he only lasted five months in his role. Elsewhere, Neville also praised Ratcliffe for coming out and addressing the club's problems, while other owners across the Premier League remain quiet on their own matters. He added: "There were some moments that were challenging, and I felt it was challenging for him at times. I could see it in his face. But I also understand that it was a big thing for him to stand up there and be a Manchester United owner. "We don't hear from FSG (Fenway Sports Group), we don't hear from [Todd] Boehly and the other guy at Chelsea , we don't hear from the Kroenkes [at Arsenal], we don't hear from Daniel Levy [at Tottenham], we don't hear from [Roman] Abramovich [when he was at Chelsea], we don't hear from any of them by the way, we don't hear from the Glazer family. "So I'm sat here thinking that's ridiculous that these clubs... these clubs are beyond the owners, they're bigger than the owners. They're the temporary owners and custodians of football clubs these guys. The fans are the people who are going to be there forever. I'm not being emotional and passionate whereby here I'm saying ultimately, 'what are owners?' "Owners put a lot of money in, they buy clubs, I get it. I understand business. However, in football clubs, I think you should be forced to communicate as an owner to the fans. And these guys are hiding, year after year, decade after decade. Jim Ratcliffe stood up yesterday and did interviews and spoke, and had to put himself in an uncomfortable position. "I think there is an element of that, I think people have recognised that. Because the rest of the clubs and the owners, they don't speak."