Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Ralf Rangnick makes 10-year title admission in begrudging nod to Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea

Ralf Rangnick, Man Utd interim manager, faces the media after Premier League win at Norwich

Ralf Rangnick admits there is a good reason why Manchester United have not won the Premier League title in 10 years – but remains convinced he can already see green shoots of progress at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils won the last of their 13 Premier League titles under legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013. Since then, they have finished twice on two occasions and even as low down as seventh in the season after he left. But in all seriousness, they have never really mounted a lasting challenge since the Scot called it quits.

It’s no surprise to see Wayne Rooney come clean on the moment he knew the decline was setting in.

Rangnick is the latest incumbent to try and get United upwardly mobile again.

In doing so, he is still trying to find the right formula and blend among his players. And while his favoured 4-2-2-2 formation is yet to yield better displays, results have at least improved.

That said, Friday night’s embarrassing FA Cup exit at the hands of Middlesbrough exposed their lack of ruthlessness in front of goal. Indeed, Rangnick has made it very clear where they need to rapidly improve.

United have an immediate chance to put things right in Tuesday night’s Premier League game at Burnley.

In the short term, United’s aim is to secure a top-four finish.

Rangnick names double Man Utd aim

Long-term, Rangnick admits they have a huge job on their hands to try to close the gap on City, Liverpool and Chelsea, and become title challengers once again.

“If Manchester United have not won the title in the last 10 years, there must be some good reasons for that,” Rangnick said, as cited by the Daily Mirror.

Cristiano Ronaldo threatens to leave Manchester United unless Zidane becomes manager

Cristiano Ronaldo threatens to leave Manchester United unless Zidane becomes manager

Cristiano Ronaldo is ready to leave Manchester United unless former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane appointed

“Right now we are fourth in the league and everybody inside of the club, including myself, would be happy if we finish fourth at the end of the season.

“We’re still in the Champions League and my full focus, with my coaching staff, is getting the best out of this season with the team we have.

“This is our job and why I’m here. My mission is getting the best out of the squad and all the rest has to be dealt with at the end of the season.

“I’m absolutely convinced we’re playing on a higher level than we used to play a couple of weeks ago.”

Potential Man Utd overhaul

Rangnick’s future is uncertain as United look for a new permanent manager to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

As such, Rangnick faced a probe over if he now realises the task he has at hand amid a potential overhaul when he moves into an Old Trafford consultancy role in the summer.

He said: “I don’t know. I don’t think so because, overall, the development of the team and our performances in the last couple of weeks have improved, including by the way, the cup game.”

On whether United prioritised the FA Cup, he added: “Yes of course, but this is hypothetical.

“There are still 16 clubs involved and a lot of top teams. Everyone can see how seriously we prepared the team for this game. We were not clinical enough.

“We were not the only ones, by the way. Others, like Chelsea and West Ham had problems against third-division teams.

“This can happen, but in the end we didn’t proceed and this was the worst part of it. It’s not about ‘maybe it was a chance to get silverware’, we wanted to get to the next round.”

READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand criticises Rangnick for pushing United attacker into ‘vulnerable position’