Ralf Rangnick has revealed that he could recommend himself as manager to the Manchester United board when his caretaker role comes to an end in the summer.
The 63-year-old German officially took over as successor to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer yesterday after Michael Carrick had overseen a run of three unbeaten games as caretaker.
Rangnick has been put in charge until the summer and given another two-year “consultancy” role after that.
But Rangnick admits that should his six months in charge at Old Trafford go well, that consultancy could involve him recommending himself for the job on a permanent basis – something he has done twice before with RB Leipzig.
Rangnick said: “The people with whom I have spoken so far have been very clear that we’re talking about a six, six and a half month role as a manager currently.
“We have never spoken about what will happen in the summer. Right now I’m fully aware they might be looking for a new manager.
“If they will then speak with me about that we will see. Maybe if they ask my opinion and everything goes well and we develop the team I might even make the same recommendation to the board that I did at Leipzig twice when I recommended it might be a good idea to keep working with me for one year.
“But this is all hypothetical. We cannot speak about that. For me now it’s about winning the next games and this is the major focus.”
Rangnick was on hand at Old Trafford on Thursday as his new team collected a spectacular, if flawed, 3-2 win over Arsenal thanks to two goals from superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
How the veteran Portuguese will fit into Rangnick’s high-octane pressing game has been a topic of much debate but the manager himself has no concerns and insists he will adapt to Ronaldo – not the other way around.
“You always have to adapt your style or your idea of football to the players you have available, not vice versa,” he said.
“Having seen Cristiano yesterday in the second half at the age of 36, an amazing top professional. At his age, I’ve never seen a player who is still that physically fit. He’s still a player who can easily make the difference. So yes, it’s about how we can develop the whole team not only Cristiano.
“We play in the most competitive league in the world so we need all the players on board. What I saw from Cristiano yesterday, he is more than willing to do that, to put his input into the team. His team-mates will have to do the same.”
Rangnick revealed that he spent two hours talking to Solskjaer last weekend, gathering information from his predecessor. And his first job on Wednesday was to try, unsuccessfully, to talk Carrick out of his decision to leave the club entirely at the end of his caretaker reign.
“I had a long private conversation with him for more than an hour,” said Rangnick. “I was trying to convince him to stay on board but he had obviously taken that decision weeks ago that he needed a break and a rest after 30 years in professional football.
“In the end, I had to accept that, in a way, I can also understand his decision.”
In the meantime, one of Rangnick’s first tasks in his role as United interim manager, and future consultant, will be to attempt to try and re-establish continuity at the club – something that has been badly lacking since the retirement in 2013 of Sir Alex Ferguson.
“Having had the same manager for 27 years is unique and exceptional and for me, it’s not that unusual that after such a long and successful spell the club needs to find the new pathway,” said Rangnick.
“There have been changes in management – five managers since Sir Alex left – and therefore it was also difficult for the club to gain continuity in regard to signing new players and sticking to the DNA of the club and I think this is vital in modern football that you do that.
“For me, it is not that unusual that there were so many changes and I think the board members and myself have the same opinion that for the future it’s important we develop in the future and there will not be that many changes in management.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3olSMZM
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