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Rangnick finds "two faults" in Man Utd team amid calls for summer overhaul

mirror.co.uk, 7 February 2022, 16:38
Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick is set to take on a two-year consultancy role at Old Trafford once his stint in the dugout ends at the conclusion of this campaign

Ralf Rangnick insists Manchester United do not need an overhaul and there are already signs of improvement under his leadership.

Since replacing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as interim boss at the start of December, the German has overseen more positive results - even if performances have left a little to be desired.

But Friday's shock FA Cup elimination at the hands of Championship Middlesbrough leaves the Red Devils facing up to the prospect of another trophyless campaign.

Already out of the Carabao Cup and the Premier League pacesetters way out in the distance, the only chance of ending their five-year trophy drought would be an unlikely charge to the Champions League.

That has led some to believe that in order to truly compete with the game's best, United will need to drastically reshape their playing staff.

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Rangnick is set to take on a two-year consultancy role at Old Trafford starting this summer and will help the new boss plan a path to bring the Red Devils back to the top of European football.

But the 63-year-old is confident enough pieces are already in place to negate the need for a massive rebuild - and instead focused on two very specific areas of development.

United were guilty of missing a host of changes against Boro, including a missed penalty by Cristiano Ronaldo and a chance for Bruno Fernandes which Rangnick subsequently described as "as good as a penalty" before ultimately losing in a shootout.

That profligacy along with the need to continue the improvement in their pressing game, Rangnick believes would turn them into real challengers.

Asked about if the squad needs an overhaul, he said: "I don't know. I don't think so. Overall, the development of the team and performances over the last couple of weeks have improved.

Rangnick continued: "There are two points of criticism that we all have to face. One: we wasted too many clear-cut chances, 22 shots inside the box, 10 were massive opportunities and we should easily have been 3-0 up at HT. It should have been 6-1 or 6-2.

"And the other one was 10 secs before we conceded the goal, it was a perfect counter-pressing situation inside their half, we took away time but not the ball away from them and eight seconds later we were outnumbered in our box.

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"It was a handball goal and I'm still convinced this goal should have been disallowed, but we shouldn't have allowed this situation.

"Those are the two things I fault with the team. We invested a week into the game plan and many of those things have been confirmed by the team and were shown on the pitch against Middlesbrough."

United take on Burnley at Turf Moor on Tuesday night and will be boosted by the returns of Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani.

Both missed the Boro defeat for differing reasons but will be involved against the Clarets, although Fred and Alex Telles will miss out having tested positive for Covid-19, Rangnick confirmed.

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