Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Pundit’s initial Rangnick fear rings true as Man Utd boss told he is struggling in deep end

Ralf Rangnick gestures from the Man Utd touchline

Ralf Rangnick is struggling to get his message across to the experienced Manchester United dressing room according to one pundit – and as another observer predicted.

The interim Red Devils boss is in the dugout until the end of the season, when he will move into a consultancy role. While he will soon have a key job working alongside United chiefs, his big task now is securing a top-four finish.

Despite remaining unbeaten in his first four Premier League matches, though, Rangnick has not truly convinced.

In fact, he admitted that he has not made as much progress as he hoped he would have by now.

Rangnick, 63, is one of Europe’s most experienced coaches. He worked wonders with Hoffenheim and Schalke earlier in his career. Then, he put RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg on the map both as a coach and as a sporting director.

But Paul Merson predicted before the coach arrived at Old Trafford that he could struggle because he has never worked with a dressing room full of experienced players and “superstars”.

According to Steve Nicol, those struggles are real and it is a problem for Rangnick.

“Do you know what I think is interesting?” the former Liverpool defender told ESPN FC.

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“If you look at all the places he’s been before, Rangnick, it’s always been young, up and coming players and teams, who if you say jump through a wall, they’ll do it without thinking about it.

“He’s never taken on a team with the experience that all these Man Utd players have and it doesn’t seem as though they’re interested in what he has to say, for that particular reason.

“So he has no experience in dealing with that type of player. It’s always been young guys that just do what they tell them.”

Linked in with this, more observers have claimed that the body language of some United players is a concern.

Rangnick has Man Utd worries

Ralf Rangnick, interim Manchester United boss, during a press conference - pic via ManUtd.com

Gary Neville and Gabriel Agbonlahor picked on Cristiano Ronaldo for going straight down the tunnel – instead of clapping the travelling fans – following Monday’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle.

Neville also picked out Bruno Fernandes’ attitude as a concern. Overall, he labelled the players “a group of whingebags”.

United return to action on Thursday when facing Burnley at Old Trafford.

Going into the game, they sit seven points behind fourth-placed Arsenal with two games in hand.