John Barnes believes that ’s next manager will need the full support of the club in order to get the best out of their players.
The former Liverpool attacker went on to claim that the attitude of players has been the cause of the Red Devils’ struggles this season and that until a strong and respected coach is brought in, they will continue to falter.
The 2021/22 campaign has been another disappointing one for United, with the club failing to pick up any silverware for a fifth successive season while their chances of qualifying for the are dwindling, with Ralf Rangnick’s side currently seventh in the Premier league, three points off fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
All this after spending big on world-class stars in , and Raphael Varane, resulted in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking last November, with Rangnick joining as interim manager ahead of the appointment of a new permanent head-coach at the end of the season.
Speaking to , Barnes insisted United would not succeed until the right manager takes over, saying: ‘They’ve got great players but nothing’s going to change at United, from next week, to the week after, as I’ve been saying all along, until the attitude of the players changes.
‘They could win 3-0 next week, but they won’t have turned a corner because the following week they could go and lose.
‘That’s going to be a feature of United until a new manager comes in and he’s given the power to drop who he wants, play who he wants and dominate the players with the backing of the fans.
‘The players are all good enough. They will need an overhaul of the squad if the attitude isn’t going to change. When the manager comes in, what will make the attitudes change is if he is given complete power by the hierarchy and the fans.
‘If he wants to drop everyone and play the youth team, they have to back him. That’s the power he has to have – it’s the power [Jurgen] Klopp, [Thomas] Tuchel, [Pep] Guardiola and [Mikel] Arteta all have, and that’s why their teams are much better.
‘That won’t happen until the end of the season. They still have good enough players to win important matches, but the consistency won’t come until they resolve the managerial situation.’
Ajax’s Erik ten Hag and Paris Saint-Germain’s Mauricio Pochettino have emerged as the two favourites to take the reins at Old Trafford, but regardless of who eventually ends up in the dugout, one of their first jobs will be to resolve the Marcus Rashford situation, with the 24-year-old’s future up in the air after a difficult season.
‘Marcus Rashford is a good player suffering from the lack of harmony in United’s squad,’ added Barnes.
‘United’s players all have to be in it together. It’s a very divisive squad when people are talking about who should and shouldn’t be playing.
‘Rashford’s a very good player but obviously the harmony isn’t right at United. It won’t happen this season for Rashford, but he could still be the main man for the team once they resolve the disunity.’
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