MANCHESTER UNITED have confirmed the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim coach on a six-month deal, with the German currently awaiting his work permit.
At the age of 63, the former RB Leipzig and Schalke manager faces his biggest task to date, where he will be managing for the first time in English football – taking over the biggest team in the Premier League with the objective of leading them in the right direction, on and off the pitch.
The Red Devils are five points behind the top four positions, although the season is still salvageable if the problems within the squad are resolved by the professor of German football.
Should he impress the hierarchy from now till the end of the season, it should not be a surprise to see his two-year role as a consultant expand into a position towards the recruitment department.
Without further ado, here are the four most concerning issues that need fixing by Rangnick…
The Cristiano Ronaldo conundrum
After completing the last three Prem games without scoring a goal, as well as starting on the bench against Chelsea, Cristiano Ronaldo will certainly not be happy with the current situation at the club and the lack of service provided to him.
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The arrival of Rangnick does not help his farewell tour at Old Trafford get any easier, with the new boss widely demanding each player in the team to be proactive and on the front foot, by pressing the opposition.
The Portuguese international is 36-years-old, and no longer has the endless amount of energy required to run up and down the pitch or the physicality to play with the same intensity as his team-mates.
With how modern football is, the team have to press together or not press at all, and if individuals such as Ronaldo and Paul Pogba press half-heartedly, the opponent will play through it with ease.
On that basis, Rangnick has to be strict with the big-name stars to have a successful time at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo is one of the few players that a manager would accommodate for within their system, but it would require other players in the side to cover for his defensive duties.
Forming a consistent and dominant backline
The Red Devils have conceded 22 goals in 13 league matches this season, which is simply not good enough for a side that aims to finish in the top four, let alone challenge for the league title.
With Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire being dreadful since the beginning of the campaign, and Raphael Varane missing key periods through injury issues, the team have been conceding goals left, right and centre, especially in heavy defeats to the likes of Liverpool, Man City and Watford.
Rangnick will have to be ruthless with the players in the backline, as Maguire and Shaw have been poor time and time again this season but were not dropped at all for their horrendous displays by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Once he puts his prepared system into place and drills into the team, the side should instantly limit the opposition’s chance creation.
Not only that, but with players such as Alex Telles, Diogo Dalot and Eric Bailly available from the bench, particularly during the busy run of fixtures from now until the end of the year, Rangnick will be closely noting the performances of the first-choice defenders and will drop anyone without hesitation.
Implementing a style of play from the get-go
United’s ongoing issues have been due to a lack of clear style, with the side having been reliant on individual brilliance – having not shown any clear signs of being an organised team on and off the ball.
From a large number of goals conceded, to the limited number of chances created in the final third, this has been caused by the missing presence of a system, leaving the players to overthink the decisions they make and look helpless on the pitch, as there is no communication with each other.
For sure, Rangnick implementing a style of play from the get-go will not be easy, with the side featuring in eight matches from now until the end of the year.
Also, the squad are not used to playing football at a high level, in training and in matches, potentially leading to players becoming fatigued and injured, which is the last thing the new manager will want with games taking place every few days.
Overall, Rangnick will understand that the next few weeks will be a huge transition process for himself as well as the squad, though, he will have to put his philosophy into motion to see who fits into his project and who does not.
And with the January transfer window being a month away, it will give him the perfect time to offload the deadwood and bring in one or two key additions.
Building the team around Sancho and Van de Beek
Both Donny van de Beek and Jadon Sancho have shown what they are capable of in recent matches, despite the lack of game time previously provided to them by Solskjaer.
With Rangnick now entering the scene, a manager that likes intelligent individuals that can work in tight spaces and make good decisions within a matter of moments, the duo are the perfect pair to build the team around.
As Rangnick expects his team to play with a high intensity and a high pressing mindset, Sancho and Van de Beek will be the first two players to be mentioned in the starting line-up, given that they have previous experience with this style of play at Dortmund and Ajax.
On top of that, the new manager will look to set his team up in a 4-2-2-2 formation, and it would not be a surprise to see both players utilised as the key attacking midfielders, especially with the chemistry they have with one another.
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