Erik ten Hag says former interim Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick was “absolutely right” when he suggested the club needed “open heart” surgery.
Rangnick spent seven months at Old Trafford steering the ship after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal in November 2021 following a disastrous run of results.
The German, now in charge of the Austria national team, was blunt in his assessment of United’s problems, openly telling reporters at the time: “This is an open heart operation. If everyone realises this has to happen and works together, it doesn’t need to take years.”
Ten Hag had already been confirmed as United’s next permanent manager by that point, with contact established between the pair prior to the Dutchman taking over, and he was rewarded for his work over the past two years with contract extension this summer.
Speaking in an interview with Dutch newspaper AD Sportwereld, Ten Hag admitted that Rangnick’s assessment of things was correct.
“Rangnick was absolutely right,” he said. “We have been working very hard on this for two years, but he said it exactly right: it is a thorough, very complex operation. And I knew when I started that it was going to be a tough job.”
United have been overhauled off the pitch as well as on it, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS acquiring a 27.7% stake in the club as well as taking over day-to-day running of football operations.
Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox are in place as CEO, sporting director and technical director respectively, while Christopher Vivell, formerly of Chelsea, has joined on an interim basis as director of recruitment.
The new structure has already overseen the signings of Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and teenage centre-back Leny Yoro from Lille – the latter deal one that is widely regarded as a bit of a coup despite the £52m outlay – and the outlook in Manchester appears to be nothing but positive.
A deal for Bayern Munich centre-back Matthijs de Ligt could also still be done, with Ten Hag admitting his interest in reuniting with a player he managed during his successful tenure at Ajax.
What we know
- Rangnick brutal in his assessment of United’s problems during spell as interim boss
- Ten Hag took over as permanent manager after German’s departure
- United making progress on and off the field since behind the scenes changes were made.