Ralf Rangnick has claimed Manchester United can turn around their fortunes within a year.
It's been predicted United could find themselves out in the wilderness for several seasons to come as new Dutch boss Erik ten Hag takes time to install a new culture at Old Trafford. But speaking before his final match in charge of United, German coach Rangnick says it can be done quicker with the right moves in the transfer market.
Outgoing interim boss Rangnick said: “Yes, I strongly believe that and I know that from my own experience. I developed teams from level four to Champions League and level three to Champions League.
“This is obviously different here because United are already in the Premier League and we are a club with high expectations with a big tradition of being successful. But you can only find what you need if you know what you are looking for and you need to know that in advance. This also depends on how Erik wants to play? If you saw Ajax or his U-23 team at Bayern Munich play then it's pretty obvious how that will be.
"And for me it's also clear what kind of players he needs to help him to be successful. There will be changes, players will be leaving because their contracts have expired so there will be space for new players. We also spoke about the last transfer window in January where we and the board decided not to sign any players but this is different now. In this summer window there will be some new players and Erik will also have some influence on which kind of player he wants.
“That will happen in this window and hopefully the next two windows and I think it's obvious to everybody for the owners, the board and every supporter we need to increase and raise the level of quality within the squad. And as I said if you know what you are looking for and how you want to play then it's a lot easier.”
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Rangnick, meanwhile, has reflected on Cristiano Ronaldo's capacity to press high up the field, a facet of the game which is likely to feature prominently under new boss Ten Hag. Rangnick added: “Cristiano scored a few goals but, again, Cristiano - and I’m not blaming him at all, he did great in those games - but he’s not a pressing monster. He’s not a player - even when he was a young player - who was crying, shouting 'hooray, the other team has got the ball, where can we win balls?'
“And the same with quite a few other players so we had to make some compromises at one stage, maybe we made a few too many - that’s also possible. We never found the right balance between what do we need with the ball and without the ball. Even in possession of the ball, we didn’t create as many chances as we should have done.”
