As his tenure as Manchester United’s interim manager drew to a close, Ralf Rangnick cautioned incoming boss Erik ten Hag about the squad’s condition.
Ralf Rangnick’s stark warning that Erik ten Hag needed to perform “open heart surgery” on Manchester United’s squad continues to resonate after their 1-0 defeat at Newcastle.
Throughout Saturday night’s game, United posed little threat, and they were fortunate that Anthony Gordon’s second-half strike remained the only goal they conceded. Tensions flared during the match, with Ten Hag and Anthony Martial exchanging words, and Marcus Rashford visibly frustrated upon being substituted.
Despite eight members of United’s starting lineup against Newcastle being part of the squad during Rangnick’s tenure two seasons ago, it appears that Ten Hag has not taken heed of Rangnick’s advice.
“We are always [having] issues. I know it’s your job to see that. We have the away form or we have the home form. We have this issue and we have to overcome this issue. It’s the truth. Today, I have to say credit to Newcastle. After the start, where we could have scored with Alejandro Garnacho, they were better than us, more proactive,” he said in his post-game press conference.
Man United are now five points off the final Champions League place which is currently occupied by Aston Villa.