Manchester United possibly gambled on Ralf Rangnick by appointing him as the interim manager in November 2021 . The decision was going to have its own risks and rewards. The way the season has panned out since his arrival in November, it is really difficult to spot the rewards of it.
The Red Devils have crashed out of the FA Cup and the Champions League under his management and are struggling in the Premier League as well. The German was interviewed on Manchester United's official website where he spoke about the club's Champions League ambitions and the expected standards of the club.
He replied:
"For me, it’s rather painful and it hurts to see Atletico Madrid play against Manchester City. I think everybody knows that those are the moments you play for and you want to play in the Champions League, especially at a club like Manchester United. It’s up to us to make that happen again."
The Old Trafford outfit have not helped their own cause when it comes to finishing in the top-four after producing bang average performances in the Premier League. They have won only one of their last five games and have lost and drawn two games each.
Rangnick's side will face Norwich City in their next game in the English top-flight on Saturday. The Canaries are rock bottom in the Premier League and as such present a great opportunity for seventh-placed Manchester United to get some momentum back for the business end of the competition.
The Red Devils boss believes that there is no point in looking at the math of it. He told the club's official website:
"Mathematically it can happen, but it doesn’t help us at all if we speculate about that. It’s about us winning our own games, that’s the only thing we can influence and we can affect ourselves – our own performance and results. We need to make sure that we start winning games again."
Erik ten Hag set to be appointed as the next Manchester United boss
Word is out that Ajax coach Erik ten Hag could be the fifth permanent appointment at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, with the official confirmation impending. A report by ESPN suggests that Manchester United looked at nearly eight candidates before arriving at the decision to appoint the Dutchman.
An announcement regarding the same is expected to come after Ajax's KNVB Beker final clash against rivals PSV. It will be interesting to see the kind of changes ten Hag makes to his squad and whether starman Cristiano Ronaldo will be a part of his plans next season.