Manchester United interim manager Ralph Ronnick has been officially declared the new manager of Austria, but he will continue to serve as senior football adviser to the Red Devils, one and two. Lonnick insisted it was an honor.
Lonnick will play his first game in charge of Austria after the Premier League in May, against Croatia, Denmark and France.
Two years after signing with the Austrian Football Federation, Lonnick explained why he agreed to coach the team: "It is an honour for me to be in this position. I'm also excited to lead this young and motivated team to the European Championship in my home country of Germany."
The contract period for coaching Austria is exactly the same as Lonnick's Manchester United consultant contract, and some Manchester United fans are angry. But in fact, the 63-year-old Lonnick only needs to work 6 days a month in the Manchester United consultant position. Britain's "Daily Telegraph" revealed that Lonnick's consultant work is mainly focused on focused around recruitment.
Lonnick himself confirmed: "I can be sure that at the end of the season I will definitely continue to be an advisor. I didn't say I would play an important role in my future work, but we have now agreed on the content and timing of my role as a consultant. So far, I haven't spoken to Eric [Tenhag], but this promises to happen in the future. Still, as I said, I'm more than happy to help and make things better. This will also leave room for my other job, which we agreed to do last November."
However, Longnick also reminded Manchester United fans not to expect too much, because even if Tenhag is in charge, the Red Devils will be at a disadvantage in terms of attractiveness if they want to compete with Manchester City, Liverpool and even Chelsea in the transfer market. It is not difficult to understand that although Tenhag was very successful in Ajax, his personal charm was lacking compared to Guardiola, Klopp and Tuchel.
"As a club, in terms of the level of the fans, the stadium, the training ground, I would say that Manchester United can still attract top stars." "But we also have to be realistic, if clubs like Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea are in the competition, you have to find good reasons to convince the players," Lonnick said. That's why Eric 's idea is important, I knew it when I was in Leipzig and Salzburg, and I also knew from Jurgen (Klopp) and Thomas (Tuchel) that if they wanted a player, they would be involved in the transfer and communicate with the players, as did Pep (Guardiola)."
Lonnick added: "The manager will personally invite players to join, but also by talking to the players, understanding their mentality and personality to determine if they are the best player for the club. But that's only one thing, meeting the players also requires convincing them to join the club. United are likely to not be able to play in next season's Champions League, but the club will need quite a few new players. That's what I can tell you. I think the key is that the club's scouts find players and then bring in players to make United one of the top teams again, you need the mental, the skill, the body, the speed and the technology, you have to have it all."