Krishnan Sreekumar
Interim manager Ralf Rangnick claims Manchester United need to model themselves on Manchester City and Liverpool
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Manchester derby on Sunday (h/t Daily Mail), Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has said that the Red Devils need to model themselves on rivals Manchester City and Liverpool to establish a clear identity.
The German is preparing for his first Manchester derby and will face off against a City side that is currently on top of the Premier League table. United meanwhile, are in fourth place ahead of Sunday’s match.
Rangnick named City as well as Liverpool as clubs that the Old Trafford side needs to look up to as sides that have maintained consistency and identity, by having a head coach that has lasted at these teams for the past few years.
“‘My focus was, and still is, on developing the current team and getting best out of this season. But City and Liverpool have continuity and consistency as their head coach, for the past five or six years. They have very clear identity, how they want to play.”
It is a well-known fact that United are looking to appoint a new permanent manager in the summer once Rangnick’s tenure as our interim boss is up, ushering in a new era at the club ahead of next season to get the side back to its glory days.
“Secret behind their success”
The Red Devils have not won a trophy since 2017, and their past few managerial appointments have not lasted more than 3 years. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, our rivals have won more trophies than we have, showing just how far we have fallen.
Rangnick pointed to the fact that City and Liverpool know how they want to play and have a corporate identity that is not limited to just their new players, and that his club needs to take lessons from them on this aspect and develop it at Old Trafford.
“This is the secret behind their success. They know exactly how they want to play, they have a corporate identity. Not just for new players. This is what all the top clubs have in common. This is something that needs to be developed at Manchester United.”
Questions will be asked about United’s recruitment process when it comes to new managers, given that in the past few years, Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal may be the only ones who can be considered to be ‘elite’ and capable of winning trophies at such a big club.
It is perhaps why only the pair have been able to bring silverware to Old Trafford, while others have tried and failed. Clubs like City and Liverpool have managed to rope in managers like Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, who fall in this ‘elite’ category of bosses. To no one’s surprise, they have been massively successful over the past few years.
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Given this, it is extremely important that United get their next managerial appointment absolutely spot on. The new man for the job must be someone who like Guardiola and Klopp, bring massive experience and an impressive trophy cabinet to prove that they are capable of leading the side.
Rangnick may have done a decent job at the Theatre of Dreams since he took over, losing only once in the league, but he too does not boast of the same traits that an ‘elite’ manager brings. The pressure will be on in the summer on the club hierarchy to see who they can convince to take over the reins at Old Trafford ahead of next season.
