Manchester United fans name ideal successor to Ralf Rangnick in survey
According to a survey conducted by Manchester Evening News, Manchester United fans prefer Erik ten Hag to succeed Ralf Rangnick at Old Trafford. Around 10,000 fans partook in the survey, and most chose the Dutchman as their dream Rangnick successor.
Manchester United sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last month after a string of poor results. A week after his sacking, Ralf Rangnick was announced as the club's interim manager until the end of the season. After that, Rangnick will take on a two-year consultancy role at the club.
๐จ - Ten Hag to @volkskrant about a possible next move:
"I believe I'm ready. I would gladly accept that challenge. But it's not that I'm hunting for it, if this step doesn't arrive I won't say my career has failed. But I believe I have enough skills to accept the challenge." https://t.co/SnO0YOUOkb
One of the major decisions Rangnick and the United board have to make is to choose a permanent manager after the end of the season. There have been reports of PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino as a favourite for the role.
However, many fans prefer Erik ten Hag over the Argentine. The Dutchman has been Ajax's manager since 2017, and has led them to two league titles. Ajax currently sit at the top of the Eredivisie table, and became the first Dutch team to win all six games in a Champions League game.
Ten Hag also led Ajax to a memorable Champions League semi-final run in 2018-19 season. However, the Dutch giants were beaten by Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur in a thrilling semi-final tie.
Fans and many pundits believe Ten Hag's playing style could be better suited to Manchester United. With Rangnick trying to introduce geggenpressing at Old Trafford, the Dutchman's style should blend in well with the team.
It remains to be seen who finally gets one of the most coveted jobs in world football.
Ralf Rangnick and Manchester United - the road ahead
Before a full-time Manchester manager takes over in the summer, Rangnick has a big job at hand.
Manchester United are languishing in sixth place in the league table, 11 points off leaders Manchester City. The race for the top four is also seemingly tight, with West Ham United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the fray.
United are already out of the EFL Cup after losing 1-0 to West Ham earlier this season. However, Manchester United did make it to the Champions League knockout stage, topping their group ahead of Villarreal and Atalanta.
๐ #mufc's possible opponents in the #UCL Round of 16:
๐ซ๐ท Paris Saint-Germain
๐ฎ๐น Inter Milan
๐ช๐ธ Atlรฉtico Madrid
๐ต๐น Sporting Lisbon
๐ต๐น S.L. Benfica
๐ฆ๐น RB Salzburg
๐ค Who do you want to draw?
Ralf Rangnick will look to at least get Manchester United a top-four Premier League finish. Moreover, he will also look to take the team on deep FA Cup and Champions League runs.
It will be interesting to see how much Rangnick is able to achieve in just six months with a squad full of superstars.