The interim manager of Manchester United, Ralf Rangnick has revealed that he and the incoming coach of the club, Erik ten Hag have been communicating via WhatsApp.
Ahead of Manchester United’s last Premier League game of the season which is against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park Stadium on May 22, coach Ralf Rangnick revealed that he and coach Ten Hag have plans to meet one on one before or after the league game.
Recall Manchester United appointed coach Ralf Rangnick as the interim manager of the club on 29 November 2021 after they sacked coach Ole Gunnar Solskjær due to a poor run of games. Rangnick’s agreement with Manchester United was to serve as the club’s interim coach until the end of the season. Afterward, he would be named the club’s consultant for two years.
Unfortunately for Manchester United, things got worst under the reign of Rangnick that United fail to qualify for a UEFA Champions League spot and contend for any major title. Yet, United kept the agreement they had with the German coach.
Erik ten Hag, the immediate past coach of Dutch champions, Ajax, will replace Ralf Rangnick as United’s coach at the end of the season. The Dutch tactician has already arrived in England preparing earnestly to take over from the German coach from Monday, May 23.
Ten Hag is expected to be at the Selhurst Park stadium to watch Manchester United play for the first time ahead of his official takeover.
In his last pre-match press conference on Friday, May 20, Ralf Rangnick said he and Ten Hag have “been in contact via WhatsApp”.
“We hopefully will have the opportunity to speak and meet in person, either at the weekend or on Monday, at the latest. I’m looking forward to getting to know him in person”, the outgoing United coach added.
🎙️ "It is important that the club finds players for whom it is the next logical step in their career."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 20, 2022
Ralf Rangnick has spoken to Erik Ten Hag about how he can help the new manager to rebuild the team and get the club 'back to the top'.pic.twitter.com/0nkCN4heDV
What is left for coach Ralf Rangnick and Manchester United to fight for in the 2021-2022 season
Manchester United have lost their chance of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League ahead of the 2022-2023 season which means that five-times Ballon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo will not feature in the Champions League next season for the first time in over 17 years.
As it stands, the last assignment of coach Ralf Rangnick is to qualify Manchester United for the UEFA Europa League. They can only achieve that by beating Crystal Palace away from home on Sunday.
Note that Manchester United are currently occupying the 6th spot on the league table with 58 points in 37 games, two points above 7th placed West Ham United.
This means that if Crystal Palace defeat Manchester United and West Ham United beat Brighton away from home, United will demote to the 7th spot, while West Ham will move to the 6th spot.
If that happens, that means coach Ralf Rangnick has failed to qualify Manchester United for next season’s Europa League. United would then settle for the newly established Europa Conference League.
“I’m positive the players want to get something right”, coach Ralf Rangnick said on Friday. “I know they would much rather play in the Europa League than in the Conference League next season. This should be an incentive, to make sure we qualify for Europa League on Sunday.”
