In an interview with the BBC, Ratcliffe stated that he vowed to knock Manchester City and Liverpool off their collective perch in the next three years.
He said: We have a lot to learn from our noisy neighbor - and the other neighbor.
They are the enemy at the end of the day. There is nothing I would like better than to knock both of them off their perch.
I know that Sir Alex was the first one who came out with that expression. I am in the same place as Alex - 100 per cent.
"He was fiercely competitive and that is why he was successful. We have to be the same.
But they have been in a good place for a while and there are things we can learn from both of them.
They have sensible organizations, great people within the organizations, a good, driven and elite environment that they work in. I am very respectful of them but they are still the enemy."