MY ACCOUNT
Ralf Rangnick has not yet discussed his Manchester United future beyond this season as the interim manager gave his full backing to successor Erik ten Hag.
United confirmed on Thursday that Ajax head coach Ten Hag will take over from Rangnick in the Old Trafford hotseat from the end of this season.
The Dutchman, who has a 73.8 per cent win rate across 210 games in charge of Ajax, will become the Red Devils’ fifth permanent manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Ten Hag has won two KNVB Cups and two Eredivisie titles in his four full campaigns at Ajax, with the Dutch giants on the verge of finishing top of the table again this term.
And while Rangnick does not have a personal connection with Ten Hag, he is a fan of the 52-year-old’s style of play.
“We don’t know each other, we haven’t met as yet in person,” Rangnick said. “I knew that Erik was one of the candidates the board spoke to.
“Obviously I told them, at least from what I had seen and know from people who have worked with Erik, that I think he would be a good choice.
“From I’ve seen of him, both at Bayern Munich when he was the under 23 coach and at Ajax now, I like his football.
“I’m positive with a full pre-season, with having the chance to build and mould his own staff and also a new team, we will see a different team and an improvement on the pitch.”
Rangnick was placed in charge of United until the end of the season following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November.
That deal included an agreement that would see the German stay on at United for a further two years in a consultancy position, but he is not sure if that remains the plan.
“We haven’t had time to speak about that,” Rangnick said when asked if he would be working behind the scenes next season.
Ten Hag will inherit a United squad that has gone five years without a trophy and with question marks surrounding the futures of many players.
Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Edinson Cavani are out of contract, while Nemanja Matic has already confirmed he is moving on when his existing deal expires.
United are also expected to be busy in terms of incoming activity as part of a major rebuild, which Rangnick is happy to help out with if called upon.
“It’s obvious there are quite a few players with their contracts expiring,” Rangnick said.
“There might be a few others who – although they have contracts – are already on loan and still want to be on loan or leave the club.
“It will be a significant change and rebuild necessary, that’s clear, but how many players and which positions, as I’ve said, I’ve not spoken to Erik in person yet.
“If he asks me my opinion in person, I’m willing to speak to him about my experience, but on the other hand, he’ll also have his own ideas.”
In what has been another hugely underwhelming campaign for United, skipper Harry Maguire has come in for more criticism than most for his displays in defence.
That personal abuse spilled over on Wednesday when the defender and his family received a bomb threat, though no device was discovered in his house.
Maguire is expected to be in contention to start Saturday’s Premier League trip to Arsenal and has been given the full backing of Rangnick.
“I haven’t seen him yet because I only got to know about this terrible, terrible thing yesterday afternoon and since then I haven’t been able to speak with him,” Rangnick said.
“This is another bad sign of the crazy world we’re living in and, obviously, I feel very sorry for Harry that he had that terrible experience.
“He knows that we are all behind him, the club is behind him, everybody, the players, his team-mates. It’s sad enough that crazy things like that happen.”
