Erik ten Hag will be the new coach at Manchester United in the summer, succeeding Ralf Rangnick. But the German is already predicting a difficult job for the Dutchman.
Manchester United’s German team manager Ralf Rangnick has his newly appointed successor Erik ten Hag predicted hard work for the task at the English record champions.
“In medicine, you would say it’s open-heart surgery,” said Rangnick before his team’s landmark Premier League game in London at Arsenal, with a view to the season change to former amateur coach of the German champions Bayern Munich at the end of the season .
“Not done with making minor adjustments”
In his analysis of the situation a few days after the Red Devils’ humiliating 4-0 defeat at title candidate Liverpool, Rangnick was very clear. “It’s crystal clear, you don’t even need glasses to see where the problems are. For me it wouldn’t be enough to make some minor adjustments, do some minor cosmetic work. It will take more than just here to change a little and there a little, and that’s one of the few positive aspects of our situation,” said the 63-year-old.
Manchester signed ten Hag as future team manager last Thursday. The Dutchman has been given a contract at Old Trafford until 2025 with an option for a one-year extension. Ten Hag, who worked in Munich from 2013 to 2015 as coach of the second team in the regional league, is currently on the bench in his home country with record champions Ajax Amsterdam. The 52-year-old has good prospects of winning the title with the Ajacieden this season.
Rangnick is retained as a club
In Manchester, ten Hag will be the fifth permanent coach since the departure of iconic coach Sir Alex Ferguson nine years ago. Before Rangnick took office as interim coach at the end of last year, club idol Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had failed. At the end of the season, Manchester will not have won a title for the fifth consecutive year.
In the league, the team around superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is still fighting for the consolation prize in the Champions League. However, Rangnick’s team, who will continue to work for the club in a different capacity from the coming season, can no longer achieve this goal on their own.