The pre-match or post-match press conferences for football managers are necessary evils.
Particularly with those straight after a game when the adrenaline is still pumping.
Many has been the time when a manager has been caught off guard and gone into rant mode.
Gold for the TV broadcasters, perhaps not so for the managers themselves as it shows a side to them that is generally kept hidden from public view.
The other issue that’s notable from press conferences, and this probably works more in the pre-match, is an inevitable party-line response to the questions being posed.
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There often seems to be no personality from managers who parrot what they believe people want to hear, or what they’ve been told to say from on high.
That’s why, when listening to Ralf Rangnick, it’s wholly refreshing.
The German is eloquent in his delivery, never shies away from answering even the most difficult questions, and looks the reporter straight in the eye when giving his feedback, giving a feeling of genuine interest in the subject matter.
He’s had more to deal with than most of late, given the circumstances surrounding Mason Greenwood’s arrest, Jesse Lingard not moving in the January transfer window and Anthony Martial’s contentious switch to Sevilla.
That he’s dealt with those scenarios and any other efficiently and properly in his press conferences is admirable and should be lauded.
There can be no spin or conjecture if the manager just tells it how it is.