"It was a bit of a negative surprise" - Ralf Rangnick delivers verdict on Manchester United's drab 1-1 draw against Newcastle
Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick gave his verdict on their 1-1 draw against Newcastle United at Saint James' Park on Tuesday. Rangnick expressed that he is not happy with the progress the team has made since his arrival at Old Trafford.
In his verdict on the Premier League clash against Newcastle, Rangnick said the team's performance came as a "negative surprise" to him.
🗣 "It was a negative surprise the way we played with regard to game speed, game tempo, and physicality."
Ralf Rangnick says Manchester United have been very limited with training sessions since reopening Carrington https://t.co/zmiRT85YYM
With the draw, Rangnick remained unbeaten since his arrival at Old Trafford. He joined the Red Devils in November after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked following a humiliating defeat at the hands of Watford.
Rangnick had just initiated conducting his training sessions at Carrington. However, the Covid-19 outbreak among the players, hampered the progress he was hoping to get out of the them. The German had only a few training sessions to manage ahead of the clash against Newcastle United.
Rangnick expressed his thoughts on the progress he has achieved since his arrival. Rangnick said:
''Every ambitious coach – and there is no difference between other coaches and myself in that area – wants to take faster steps and larger steps forward.''
Rangnick also spoke at length about the team's performance against Newcastle United. He said:
"But in order to do that you need to be able to train, and as you know we had to close Carrington for four days. We had eight or nine players in training directly after the Norwich game, and they only came back in bits and pieces."
The Manchester United manager further added:
"The last few days we were almost back to full strength with regard to the size of the squad, but we couldn't do that much in training. On the other hand, in those two or three training sessions the team looked good and therefore the Newcastle game was a bit of a negative surprise, the way that we played with regard to game speed, game tempo and physicality."
Ralf Rangnick points out Manchester United's problem in the clash against Newcastle United
Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick revealed that his team gave Newcastle too many transitional opportunities in the game.
Rangnick said Raphael Varane had a decent game. This is considering the Frenchman was playing his first game since the injury he picked up in Manchester United's 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in October.
🗣️ "I don't think it makes sense to speak about the individual performance of players. We need to get better as a team"
Ralf Rangnick rejects recent criticism levelled at Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane https://t.co/ooXlxJAkUF
Regarding the issues his team faced against Newcastle United, Rangnick said:
"I don't think Rapha has played for the last five or six weeks. He was injured from the Tottenham game. He made a mistake for the first goal we conceded, but apart from that he was okay."
The Manchester United boss further added:
"Our problem was that we allowed too many transitional moments. This is not only a problem of the centre-backs, it's a problem of the whole team. It starts up front, it can also be the role of the No.10s in that kind of formation. I don't think it makes sense to speak about the individual performances of players. We need to get better as a team."
Manchester United currently sit in seventh position in the Premier League table, seven points off Arsenal in fourth. They play against Burnley on Thursday in their next match.