Sky Sports pundit and former Manchester United player Gary Neville has given his thoughts on Ralf Rangnick and his future role at the club.
The future of the manager’s spot at Manchester United is somewhat unknown at this moment. Whilst they do have Rangnick in charge at the moment, that is only until the end of the season, at which point he will move upstairs to take on the role of consultant at the club.
However, he has said that he isn’t against the idea of remaining in the dugout beyond the summer, stating: “Maybe if they ask my opinion and everything goes well I might make the same recommendation that I did at RB Leipzig twice, that it might be a good idea to keep working with me for one year, but it is all hypothetical.”
However, Neville doesn’t think that will ultimately come to pass.
Speaking on The Gary Neville podcast following Manchester United’s victory over Leeds United at Elland Road, Neville gave his view on what he felt would happen to the German come the end of the season, claiming that he didn’t think Rangnick would remain in the dugout, but that he might have a say in who will be there for the start of the next campaign.
He said: “I don’t think he gets the job at the end of the season come what may now. I think that there maybe was a feeling at the beginning that if he went like that [points upwards], then that could happen. That isn’t going to happen, Manchester United will have a new manager next season.
“I think he will [have a say in who the next manager is] because what he’s got is a real good view of the personalities, characters, performance levels, training levels of the current group of players.
“So he’s in a strong position to be able to advise. He’s probably in the strongest position to be able to advise, because he’s having day-to-day contact with them.
“He’s seeing them, how they cope with disappointment, how they cope with atmospheres, how they cope with big games, how they cope with training, three games in a week, can they meet the demands of the club, have they got the quality. He’s seeing that, and I think he’ll judge it.”
TIF Thoughts on Gary Neville’s comments about Ralf Rangnick and Manchester United…
Will Rangnick lead United to a top four finish?
Yes
No
If how Neville has assessed the situation is right, this does come across as a very pragmatic approach for the club to take.
As he says, the amount of interaction that Rangnick has had with the players in the squad does make him the perfect internal voice to acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of the players, what system can get the best out of them – and as a result, who the best manager would be to take them forward from here.
That being said, it hasn’t always gone swimmingly when it comes to naming successors at Old Trafford, as the disaster of Sir Alex Ferguson recommending David Moyes to replace him would suggest.
So whilst Rangnick might have a say in what will happen, his word shouldn’t necessarily be gospel when it comes to the new manager.
In other news: Pundit: Roy Keane has ruined Man United’s chances of major transfer