Manchester United interim manager Ralph Rangnick dismissed the players' perception that his approach was "outdated", acknowledging the team's significant progress in recent matches. United have been cohesive for most of their last two games against Middlesbrough and Burnley, although neither game has seized the opportunity, resulting in a not-so-good result on both occasions. At Old Trafford last week, champion side Boro knocked United out in the FA Cup penalty shootout, while Red Wine scored a point in the league.
On Friday morning, there were reports that United's players, on the outside, seemed unhappy with any coach appointed after Sir Alex Ferguson's departure and disappointed with the German's approach to training. Chris Armas, the recently recruited U.S. coach who previously worked with Rangnick, was reportedly appointed to train and earned himself the nickname "Ted Lasso."
But Rangnick admitted ahead of Saturday's Premier League match against Southampton that his players were happy and were making progress. Asked what he thought of the reports, he said: "To be honest, I haven't read any newspapers or those articles. The way we are evolving is obvious.
"Our performance in the first half or 70 minutes at Burnley was very close to what we called the game plan and now what we have to do is reward ourselves and get the results we deserve." I think the players have realised that we've made good progress in the last few weeks, both in possession and possession. They realised we were in control of the game (against Burnley), but if we conceded a goal, we should stick to the game plan – not suddenly lose form or lose cool. "That's the most harmful part. We just didn't stick to the game plan. Suddenly, we didn't have the same spot on the court, our two eight-pointers were too far away, and that's what we talked about yesterday and the day before when we analyzed the Burnley game. ”
United are sixth ahead of their next match against Southampton, who beat Tottenham in midweek and while trailing by just one point in one game from fourth-placed West Ham, teams like Arsenal and Tottenham will themselves outdo them if they win the rescheduled matches.
Rangnick hasn't had a good record lately, but he's called on his team to start putting chances aside and fighting for points. "I know fully that this is a process that will take some time," he added. "Even in those two games, the development was evident. In football it's about getting the rewards and the best results, and in those two games it was the only place I could blame us. ”。“ I can only tell you about my experiences over the past few weeks. I could even say that if we win Burnley, they're fine. It's about improvements in performance and results. The team has evolved and even the players are aware of how much they have improved, especially when it comes to controlling the game. ”