Ralf Rangnick has warned Manchester United that they must stop wasting money to compete with rivals Man City.
Rangnick goes into his first Manchester derby admitting that City and Liverpool are in a league of their own in the transfer market.
United have blown over £1billion on new players since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, sacked four managers, and are about to finish below the Blues for a ninth successive season.
And Rangnick said: “It’s about having a clear transfer strategy and signing players who fit into that system - and that’s what both clubs (City and Liverpool) have been doing in the last five or six years.
“If I look at their transfer policy and their transfer success, they haven’t had many players who people would say that maybe that wasn’t the right signing.
“Both clubs have been pretty successful - and this is where Manchester United have to go again.
“Under Sir Alex, they were there, but since then there have been quite a few different managers.
“In order to close the gap to those two clubs, I wouldn’t say we have to do the same thing because we have our own identity as a club.
“But professional football is pretty easy. You have to have an identity on how you want to play and how the supporters want to see us play.
“This has always been attractive, offensive, proactive football, entertaining football.
‘But from there you must make sure the recruitment is right.
“You have to be quick enough, fast enough, in the transfer market, knowing the transfer market, and signing the right players in the right moment.
“On top of that, you need the best possible manager, coaching staff who can develop players.”
Rangnick, 63, came in as interim boss when United fired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November.
He will be heavily involved in the process to identify his successor before moving into an advisory role at the end of the season.
But the German believes it will take time and patience as well as a clear strategy in the transfer market to close the gap on Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
Have Your Say! Who should Man Utd target in the summer transfer window? Tell us here.
And he accepts that failure to finish in the top four this season to qualify for the Champions League will have serious consequences for United’s future plans.
Rangnick added: “Pep has been there for almost six years, he came in 2016, and Jurgen in 2015 to Liverpool.
“It’s a question of continuity, consistency, and knowing exactly how you want to play as a club and a manager.
“Financially, everybody knows what missing the top four would mean.
“You would have less money available for your budget and it would be better for all the players and the staff members if you played Champions League next season.
“It would also maybe make negotiations with new players easier - but this is how it is.
“Right now it’s up to us to try everything we possibly can to qualify.”
