believes that more behind-the-scenes changes are needed at if the club are to compete with the likes of Liverpool and .
United appear to have found their next head-coach with ’s Erik ten Hag set to be appointed in the coming weeks, while interim-manager Rangnick is set to remain at Old Trafford in a consultancy role for the next two years.
From 2012 to 2020, the German served as director of football for both RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg, overseeing their rise to the top of the game, and Red Devils’ supporters will be hoping he can have a similar effect on United.
However, in an interview with , Rangnick stated that there was lot of work that needed to be done at the Theatre of Dreams, admitting that United’s biggest rivals were way ahead of them.
He said: ‘In Germany we have a head coach and then there is usually a minimum of two sKi**ed people continuously in the club on a longer-term basis responsible for recruitment, scouting and any daily operation.
‘They also bring in the right and best possible head coach for the team. This still hasn’t got a big tradition here and so the job of a sporting director or director of football – only a few clubs have that.
‘I know that for the future, and I think even more so for a big club like Manchester United, you can’t put all those jobs and tasks and the whole responsibility only on the shoulder of one person – on the manager. I’m not sure if this can be dealt with by one person, no matter how good he is.
‘I know Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea also have smart people who take care of recruitment, scouting, the medical department… I think this is also an issue for our club, where they have to pay attention to.’
The three aforementioned clubs have had great success over the past five years, dominating the Premier League and winning various other domestic and international trophies, with the relationship between manager and sporting director key to those accomplishments.
United were late to the trend of hiring an official football director, with John Murtough given that role in March 2021, with former player Darren Fletcher handed the newly created job of technical director.
The pair are supposed to work in tandem with the manager, but it remains to be seen how successful they are with the incoming Ten Hag as well as the club’s new CEO Richard Arnold, who replaced the unpopular Ed Woodward in February.
It’s also unclear what role Rangnick will have at Old Trafford beyond this season and how he will fit into the inner workings of the club.
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