Rangnick has idea for his successor

Ralf Rangnick has not spoken to Manchester United about his replacement, though the German has an opinion on who his successor should be.

The German takes charge of the Red Devils in his first derby against Manchester City on Sunday, after succeeding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in December on a short-term deal through to the end of the season. 

Several names have been floated about as the next permanent occupant of the managerial hot seat at Old Trafford, including Paris Saint-Germain’s Mauricio Pochettino and Ajax’s Erik ten Hag.

But speaking ahead of his side’s trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Pep Guardiola’s Premier League leaders, Rangnick told Sky Sports: “So far, we’ve not spoken about that.

“Not with [sporting director] John Murtough or anyone else, we’ve not spoken about this topic over the last weeks and months since I’ve been here.

“I know my opinion but so far we’ve not spoken about that so it’s all I can tell you.”

On Ajax boss Ten Hag, the German had nothing but kind words, adding: “I don’t know him to start with as a person, but I’ve seen how Ajax have developed since he’s been there.

“I know about the work he did while he was at Bayern Munich and it’s obvious he’s one of the top coaches in Europe but there are a few others.

“We’ve not spoken about any new manager so far and therefore we’ve not spoken about him.”

United face City in a contest that could seriously shake up both of their respective campaigns, with the former seeking to strengthen their top-four hopes and the latter needing to consolidate their spot at the summit.

Rangnick is under no illusions over the magnitude of the match, and drew comparisons to his own previous experience with local rivalries.

“One of the biggest derbies is Schalke against Dortmund and I managed in quite a few of them in the two times I was head coach at Schalke,” he added.

“I’m fully aware of what that means for the supporters of both teams. Similarly, the Manchester derby is a game of high importance for both teams and we’ll be ready.

“We want another good away performance as so far we are unbeaten in three months away from home. We’re fully aware we will need a top performance to get anything out of this game.”