Man Utd boss Ralf Rangnick explains why he turned down interim role at Chelsea

Ralf Rangnick says he snubbed taking an interim role at Chelsea because he offered only four months with no long-term assurances.

Earlier this week, Rangnick was confirmed as Manchester United's next boss and was in the stands at Old Trafford for Thursday's win over Arsenal.

Rangnick's arrival follows on from the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last month and the German coach is tasked with transforming the club's stuttering season.

The 63-year-old's appointment is initially as an interim coach for the remainder of the campaign and there is a two-year consultancy role with the club following on from that spell.

United were the second Premier League club to approach Rangnick this calendar year after Chelsea had tried to secure his appointment in January following the sacking of Frank Lampard.

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The Blues appointed Thomas Tuchel as Lampard's successor on a permanent basis but only after the club held talks with Rangnick over the possibility of him taking charge on an interim basis until the end of the campaign.

Rangnick was introduced as United boss on Friday with his first press conference and he explained that United's post-management consultancy role was a key player in his decision.

He explained: "At the time when Chelsea contacted me, they only talked about the option to become interim manager for four months without the perspective for longer-term.

"We're talking about six-and-a-half months [at United] and we also have a two-year advisory role. If Manchester United contact you for such a role then you can't turn it down."

The veteran boss explained in an interview earlier this year that there was a conversation regarding a move to Stamford Bridge, but the nature of the job on an interim basis was off-putting to him at that point.

"I said: 'I would like to come and work with you, but I can't do it for four months. I'm not an interim coach.

"To the media and players, you would be the 'four-month manager', a lame duck, from day one."

Rangnick is a great admirer of Tuchel, who is one of the latest generations of German coaches to be influenced by the United manager's revolutionary tactical ideas.

Rangnick previously added of Tuchel: "If you watch Chelsea now you see a mutual plan for when they have the ball or the other team have the ball.

"Thomas is tactically on a very sophisticated level.

"Zsolt Low [Tuchel's assistant] was my player and assistant coach at Leipzig and plays a vital role in his staff.

"And you can see from the way he interacts with players Thomas also has great leadership skills.

"Appointing him was a top solution. I can only congratulate Thomas and Chelsea for the choice."

Rangnick's new-look setup at United will not include Michael Carrick, who as caretaker boss oversaw Thursday's 3-2 win over Arsenal, the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and a decisive 2-0 victory over Villarreal last week in the Champions League.