Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has hinted he would consider becoming the club’s permanent manager at Manchester United beyond the end of the season. He has been appointed to guide United through the remainder of this campaign after the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“The people with whom I’ve spoken with, they’ve been very clear that it’s a six-month role. We’ve 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 then speak with me about that, we’ll see.” Rangnick told reporters in his first news conference at the club.
“If they ask me for my opinion, and everything goes well, we develop the team. I might even make the same recommendation to the board I made at Leipzig twice when I recommended to them it might be a good idea to keep working with me for one year.”
Rangnick, who also said he rejected a four-month offer from Chelsea last season, added he had not discussed potential recruits during the January transfer window. There have already been talks between Rangnick and co-owner Joel Glazer, and the manager revealed he has spoken to Solskjaer too.
“At the time when Chelsea contacted me in February, we spoke only about the interim manager for four months, without any perspective to work in the long-term together. Here now we are talking about six and a half months. So we only have one-third of the games played in the Premier League and, as you all know, we have agreed on a two-year advisory role after those six and a half months. In the end, to be honest, when a club like Manchester United contacts you for such a role you cannot possibly turn it down,” Ralf Rangnick said. (rangerproofswag.com)
Ralf Rangnick aims to improve Manchester United’s defensive ‘balance’
Rangnick also said that he is excited by the ‘abundance of talent’ at the club and is prioritizing bringing the side ‘more balance, more control of the game’, highlighting the need to play more proactively. The 63-year-old is also hopeful of bringing some new faces to the backroom team that will largely stay the same.
“We haven’t spoken about (the consultancy role) in detail in all the conversations we had with John (Murtough, football director). And also with Ed (Woodward, executive vice-chairman) but especially with John. I also had a long phone call with (co-chairman) Joel Glazer for more than half an hour. I also spoke with Ole last Sunday before the Chelsea game for almost two hours,” he said.
