Manchester United are no better off after replacing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with Ralf Rangnick, according to their former player Luke Chadwick.
Since Ranginck succeeded the Norwegian, United have crashed out of the Champions League and FA Cup. And their hopes of finishing in the top four now appear remote after back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal leaves United six points behind the fourth placed Gunners, having played a game more.
Chadwick admitted that United weren’t heading in the right direction under Solskjaer, and conceded that their lacklustre form during his tenure left Rangnick with an arduous task to get them back on track. However, the former United winger has been left underwhelmed with the lack of progress since the German took the helm.
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“It was always going to be hard for Rangnick. The results took a bit of an up-turn when he first came in, even if the performances didn’t. Chadwick told CaughtOffside . “He got some wins together that were needed at the time, but the recent run – two wins in the last 10 games in all competitions – has been really poor.”
“It’s not easy being an interim manager, you don’t see a lot of massive clubs like Man United going down that route too often. Of course it worked out quite well when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took on that role and ended up getting the job full-time, but you wonder about the reasoning of this appointment, it feels like Ole might as well have stayed for the rest of the season.
“A new manager will change things a lot and this doesn’t really look like it’s been the positive change that the club will have been expecting. It was a bit of a strange decision, with Rangnick coming in because no one else was available.
“Obviously things weren’t going well under Ole, but things haven’t really improved. It was a tough job inheriting an under-performing team, but his time in charge has been disappointing overall.”
Chadwick also claimed that United’s recent defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal had left them in a ‘very difficult position’ regarding their hopes of a top four finish. The club are set for a major overhaul this summer under new boss Erik ten Hag; but without Champions League football they may struggle to attract the kind of quality players the Dutchman wants.
Chadwick added: “Obviously the Liverpool game, going into it you maybe felt, more with your heart than your head, that because it’s a big rivalry that perhaps the team could pull something out of the bag.
“The manager went with a back three, which you can understand given the attacking players they were up against, but that early goal put all those plans to bed really. It was an awful night for the club, they were outclassed and well-beaten,
“I think the game on Saturday (against Arsenal) was another poor result, even if there was an improved performance. There was a bit more fight and they could arguably have had a couple of things go more their way, like Bruno Fernandes’ penalty miss, that could’ve changed the outcome of the game.
“It was a poor result in the end, losing 3-1, and it’s put them in a very difficult position with regards to getting into the top four. Obviously the new manager’s been announced and that’s positive news, but not getting into the Champions League will affect recruitment plans.”
