Manchester United are set to appoint acclaimed German coach Ralf Rangnick as their new interim manager but Paul Merson is skeptical about the Red Devils’ hotly-debated decision
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Press conference with Manchester United’s caretaker manager Michael Carrick ahead of his side’s Premier League match against Chelsea
Paul Merson has questioned Manchester United ‘s impending decision to appoint Ralf Rangnick as their interim manager.
The Red Devils are set to hand the acclaimed German coach the keys to Old Trafford until the end of this season, following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Rangnick will reportedly move into a consultancy role upon the end of his six-month deal, helping United choose their next permanent boss and navigate their future footballing path.
But Merson is skeptical that the 63-year-old can give Cristiano Ronaldo and co what they need in the short term.
“Why do they need an interim manager? Because they don’t know what they’re doing at the moment, in my opinion,” the former Arsenal star said on Sky Sports.
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“Ole would have been at the club still today if it wasn’t for two goals in the last minute at Watford.
“I don’t think there was any plan. They didn’t think in their wildest dreams it was going to end up like that at Watford.
“At 2-1, I think he’s still in charge come Sunday. I think they were going to keep it going as long as they could.”
Merson also questioned why Rangnick, for all of his tactical plaudits across Europe, is yet to work in the Premier League and for a club of the Red Devils’ stature – with the United squad in for a rude awakening.
“I’m hearing people going how great he is – but he’s never managed in England, he’s never managed one of the top teams in the world,” the pundit went on to say.
“Why is that? Why has no one else come in for him when managers have been up?
“I hear great things about him, people saying he’s going to press and he’s hard working and he’s turned lesser teams into real contenders.
“But that’s a lot different, getting a Schalke or a Hoffenheim to a certain stage.
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“When you’re asked to go to one of the biggest clubs in the world and they already have superstars and you’ve got to make them play.”
Merson added: “It’s all right at Schalke and Hoffenheim because they’re going to listen and they want to get there.
“These [United] players are there and you have got to get them to go again. I think this is going to be difficult, this is going to be a lot harder than what people think.
“What I’m hearing is it’s like a gimme, he’ll come in and that will be it. That Man United are lucky. I’m not sure about that.”
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The Red Devils’ current caretaker manager, Michael Carrick, was coy on reports that Rangnick was set to take over ahead of United’s match against Chelsea but believes an interim boss could turn things around rapidly.
“You can get ideas across pretty quickly. I think history shows that,” Carrick explained.
Sometimes it’s not just the ideas but just a different voice, maybe, or a freshness. History proves that, for whatever reason.
“Again, looking back at history, sometimes it works really well, sometimes not so well, that’s just the nature of life.
“So we’ll see what happens in the days to come.”
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