Manchester United are said to have a ‘pretty good idea’ where training ground leaks have originated from - and hope to stamp out the ‘self-serving culture’ permeating through the dressing room.
Ralf Rangnick was named as interim boss at the end of last year, stepping in after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked amid a wretched run of form. Tasked with generating an upturn in results, the 63-year-old has steadied the ship, although performances have been far from spectacular.
United’s sole objective for the remainder of the campaign is to secure a top-four finish and ensure that the new manager will have a crack at the Champions League next season. Rangnick’s time in the Old Trafford dugout has been punctuated by rumours of disharmony within the playing staff, with several suggestions of unhappiness finding their way into the press.
In January, Mirror Football learned in January that many players viewed Rangnick’s methods as outdated, whilst also criticising his assistant Chris Armas. Sky Sports claim that United bosses are aware of where the leaks have come from and hope to erase the issue in the coming months.
Shortly after criticism of Rangnick’s methods, Red Devils legend Gary Neville hit out at what he described as “disrespectful and disgusting” comments, claiming the attitude of players was not befitting of the club.
“I thought that was downright disrespectful on Friday – I did not find it funny at all,” Neville said back in February. “That they were describing Ralf Rangnick’s number two as Ted Lasso was not funny at all and not only was it disrespectful, but I found it disgusting. It sums up what I think of them: that they are disrespectful.
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“I think if I was Ralf Rangnick and his number two, I would gain strength from that because I would not want to be on the same page of some of those players who are leaking those types of stories. That never happened in my time but we had the greatest level of stability.”
Neville went on to explain an example including unhappy Chelsea stars under Andre Villas Boas, when team news was leaked to the media well before kick-off. “That is happening at Manchester United now – they are at it, the PR teams, the agents and the marketing teams, as a self-preservation for their own player,” Neville added.
““But what they do not realise is that unfortunately, when they go to the media then those media people go to us – so we know who is briefing. The reality is that we do not like it, but we know who it is.
“We are not going to throw people under a bus here because we have that journalistic respect – but they are it in the same way that Chelsea were all those years ago. They need to stop it and work as hard as they can.”
