Ralf Rangnick has expressed skepticism about taking up his Manchester United advisory post, claiming that a contract is less significant than “what will truly happen.”
Following his open press conference at Carrington on Friday, the interim manager told the written media that the club can’t make cosmetic adjustments and that they need ‘open-heart surgery to fix their problems.
Ralf Rangnick believes Erik ten Hag was the best coach available to United, but he also believes the Dutchman will only succeed if there is a sense of realism about the current circumstances and a commitment to revamp in the proper way moving forward.
Rangnick’s Opinion on the Role of Consultancy
“We’ve reached an agreement on that consulting job, but in the end, it’s not about what’s put on paper or what’s agreed upon; it’s about what will actually happen in everyday life and business.
It’s also crucial to consider Erik ten Hag’s perspective. Is it possible that he enjoys conversing with people like me? How close does he wish to collaborate with you? And those are the topics we haven’t yet discussed.
As a result, I’m not concerned about it at all. It’s not about having agreed on a contract or whatever for the next two years – I’ll be 64 in a few months – it’s about what will actually happen and how much Ten Hag and the Manchester United board of directors care about my views and experience.”
When asked if he would love to be involved in management, Ralf said:
“Well, I’m interested, and after five-and-a-half months, I still see what kind of possibilities we have, what kind of room for progress there is, and where we could develop with this club.
After seeing Liverpool play against us, hearing about what happened in other clubs, and discussing Arsenal’s improvement, why shouldn’t this be achievable here? This is one of the world’s most prestigious clubs, with ideal training facilities and a beautiful stadium…
We have tremendous crowd support, perhaps the best I’ve ever seen outside of Schalke in Germany. This is incredible. And, of course, I’d like to be a part of that. I’m not sure if this is possible, or how much it would be appreciated and desired.”
Rangnick on Paul Pogba
“It’s pointless to discuss it right now because he’s injured. But, after all, he is a World Cup winner with France. We all know how talented he is and how terrific a player he can be.
But, like a number of other players, he was having trouble sustaining his best efforts on the pitch for United games. This hasn’t happened only this season or in the last several weeks. This, as far as I recall, was also the situation in previous years.
That’s a difficult question to answer. It would have been much easier to fix if I or other instructors had known about it. But it doesn’t make sense to think about that right now.
Because, as I previously stated, he will not be available for the game tomorrow and will most likely not be available for the other four games. And it appears that he will not renew his contract at this time. Next season, he’s most likely not going to be here.”
