Ralf Rangnick on why Erik ten Hag can succeed as Man Utd manager
Ralf Rangnick has detailed why Erik ten Hag can succeed as Manchester United manager.
After a lengthy process to find Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's permanent replacement, Ten Hag was confirmed as United's new boss on Thursday - with the Dutchman penning a three-year deal at Old Trafford with the option of a fourth.
The 52-year-old will see out the current season with Ajax before packing his bags for Manchester, and surely knows the weight of expectation on him to turn things around for United.
The Red Devils have been desperately disappointing during 2021/22, crashing out of the Champions League last 16 stage while struggling to display any kind of consistency. Their indifferent form has left them trailing Arsenal and Tottenham in the race for a top-four finish, with thoughts of a Premier League title challenge a distant memory.
United face the Gunners on Saturday in a crunch game at the Emirates Stadium, and Rangnick was asked during his pre-match media duties how - and why - Ten Hag will succeed once he takes over.
Listen now to 90min's Manchester United podcast, The Promised Land, with Scott Saunders &Rob Blanchette. On this week's show they discuss Erik ten Hag's appointment as United boss, Mauricio Pochettino's reported reaction, the future of Donny van de Beek and more.
What did Rangnick say?
"I think he's [Ten Hag] a good character to start with. From all I heard from people who have worked with him, he's very communicative, very much carrying himself well, doing a lot of things himself. He obviously needs the assistance of the whole club, of all the people inside the club. I think he will get that.
"He will hopefully have the chance to mould a new team together with the scouting department and together with the board, which is necessary. And for me, the most vital part is the club manages to get in the right and best possible players, change the attitude and also the energy - I think we need positive energy for the new team. And this is also important for the new manager. And if he gets that, we spoke about other clubs that were in a similar position as Manchester United five to six years ago…
"So if the right lessons are being learned from what has happened this season, this could be one of the few good things about a season like we are going through. At least we know which kind of screws we need to turn, things we need to change. And if that happens, I mean, why should United not be able to be as successful as those clubs are now? So it's not just the manager's quality. It's about changing all the other things that have brought the club into position as we are in right now.
"It's more the level of expectations and this has also got to do with patience. In a club like Manchester United, it's difficult to tell people to be patient. It will take a little bit of time. But we just have to face the current situation.
"I mean, we lost on aggregate against Liverpool 9-0. We lost against Manchester city on aggregate 6-1. The team even lost against Watford 4-1. We lost against a team like Everton, who were not full of confidence, 1-0. This is just the sad reality that we have to face and just acknowledge, which will help Manchester United in the future."