Interim manager Ralf Rangnick believes Manchester United need to develop the kind of “clear identity” established by the likes of rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.
All eyes will be on the Etihad Stadium this Sunday for the 187th all-Manchester encounter as the German leads his side to the reigning Premier League champions and current leaders.
Rangnick was brought in as interim manager for the rest of the season following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking in November. The experienced German is due to start a two-year consultancy role at the club in the summer.
The 63-year-old has not ruled himself out of running for the role of permanent manager. This is a position he says Manchester City and second-placed Liverpool have reaped enormous rewards from getting right.
“I don’t even know the structure or the set-up at Manchester City,” he said when asked about Manchester United’s situation compared to Sunday’s opponents. I know most of the people here in our club.
“My focus was, and still is, on developing the current team and getting the best out of this season. What is obvious, not only with Manchester City but also with Liverpool, (is that) they’ve had continuity and consistency in the position of their manager, their head coach, for the past five or six years.
“They have a very clear identity, a clear idea of how they want to play. know Jürgen (Klopp) in person and I also know Pep (Guardiola) from those three years in Germany when he was head coach of Bayern Munich. He also has a clear idea of how he wants to play.
“This idea is the headline for everything that happens in the club for recruitment, for any new players that they sign, or even for players that they at one stage will sell. This is, I think, the secret behind their success, that they exactly know how they want to play.” Rangnick Said. (NAN)
