Ralf Rangnick held court at his first Manchester United news conference, opening up about a range of hot topics.
Ralf Rangnick praised Cristiano Ronaldo, dismissed a theory he could cash in on any deal for Erling Haaland, and threw in the odd curveball during his first news conference as Manchester United interim manager.
It was a lively start in the job for Rangnick, who takes charge of United for the first time when they face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.
He faced questions from journalists for half an hour, giving media and fans an insight into what sort of a manager he may prove to be.
Here is a look at what the 63-year-old had to say on a wide range of topics:
THURSDAY’S ROLLER COASTER 3-2 WIN OVER ARSENAL
“You could see the potential that is in the team, but we have to do that more sustainably, to transfer the game away from our own box more into this area where we have our assets and our weapons in the team.”
RONALDO BEING A KEY MAN IN HIS PLANS
“Having seen Cristiano yesterday in the second half, at the age of 36 he is 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. 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’s more than willing to do that, to put his input into the team. The other team-mates will have to do the same.”
FINDING THE RIGHT BLEND OF BRAIN AND BRAWN
“Of course it’s train the brain. Modern football in the last 10 years has completely changed into a more physical, more athletic, more vertical, more high-speed ball game. If you watch games in early 2000s and compare it with now, you wouldn’t believe it’s the same ball game. It’s completely changed, and in order to develop teams you need to not only train the bodies but also the brains.”
LINKS TO ERLING HAALAND, AND RUMOURS OF A BONUS IF HE SIGNS THE DORTMUND STAR
“This is nonsense, obviously. Of course, there are no such clauses in my contract. It doesn’t make sense now to have speculation about possible new players. Erling Haaland is a fantastic striker. I know it best myself because I was together with the people at Salzburg at the time [that Haaland played there] and I was also a little bit involved in the move from Molde to Salzburg, therefore I know what kind of player he is. In the meantime, the whole world has realised how good the player is. We have so many top players in the offensive department that we don’t need to speak about any other players.”
HIS LONG-RUNNING LOVE AFFAIR WITH ENGLISH FOOTBALL
“I studied English at university to become an English and PE teacher back in the late 70s, early 80s. I also lived in Brighton with a host family and at this time I fell in love with English football. In the early 80s I took the fast train from Brighton to Victoria Station and I watched every three days a home game in the old Highbury, in the old White Hart Lane or even in Liverpool – I went to Goodison Park. Since then, I have always very much cherished the way teams are supported and even yesterday, I think this is absolutely unique. You will find very, very few football clubs in the world with that much support. This is for me football in the purest sense, as it was in those times. It’s more than exciting to now be part of that atmosphere.”
HOW UNITED CAN PROGRESS UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP
“I think to gain control of games in the future it’s got to do with playing proactively. You have to just make sure you have the biggest chance to win the next game, then step by step let the players participate, they have to go together with me. They have to follow not only my instructions, but they have to buy into the idea I can offer them how we should want to play in the future. This is what it’s all about and it has to happen step by step.”
HOW TO COMPETE WITH CHELSEA, MANCHESTER CITY AND LIVERPOOL
“If you look at the top three teams, they seem to be very stable and they have top coaches. If you see how they play and keep winning in style, controlling games, this is something that we have to develop. When, for example, Jurgen [Klopp] came to Liverpool and the squad he inherited at the time, I’m sure it was definitely not a better squad than the one I inherit now at Manchester United.”
SLOWING DOWN UNITED’S TURNOVER OF MANAGERS
“There have been changes in management, about five or six managers since Sir Alex [Ferguson] left [in 2013], so it was difficult for the club to gain continuity with regard to signing new players, developing and sticking to the DNA of the club, and I think this is vital in modern football that you do that. For me, it’s not that unusual that there were so many changes. For the future, and I think we have the same opinion, the board members and myself, it’s important that this is developed in the future, that there will be not that many changes in management.”
COULD THE INTERIM BECOME PERMANENT?
“We have never spoken about what might happen in the summer. Right now, I’m fully aware that they might be looking for a new manager. If they will then speak with me about that, we will see. Maybe if they ask me 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 to them that it might be a good idea to keep working with me [as coach] for one year, but this is all hypothetical.”
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