Manchester United players struggling to adjust to Rangnick's training sessions as dressing room cliques dampen spirits at Carrington: Reports
A little over a month after his arrival in England, Ralf Rangnick is facing his first major challenge as Manchester United's interim manager. The German must now solve dressing room problems, lift the mood at the training ground and ensure the team perform on the pitch as a single unit.
According to an explosive report by the Daily Mail, certain dressing room conflicts have emerged, highlighting the fact that Manchester United players do not have a healthy relationship amongst themselves.
The mood at Manchester United’s training ground is said to be very low and concerns over dressing room cliques have not been helped by an upgrade to the canteen that has seen six four-seater booths installed. [@ChrisWheelerDM] #MUFC
The team is also reported to be struggling to adapt to Rangnick's new style of introduced training sessions. Training sessions are said to be too long for the players, who left Carrington in the dark at 5 PM on Tuesday.
Highlighting this point, the German manager said his team has been very limited with training sessions since the reopening of Carrington. The coach noted that the whole team had been together for only three or four days after the Norwich City match. Training sessions were put on hold after a few players tested positive for COVID-19.
The dressing room issues have also been highlighted by former Manchester United defender Gary Neville after the Red Devils played out a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United on Monday night.
Gary Neville raises concerns about Manchester United's leadership and dressing room atmosphere. #mufc
manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football… https://t.co/dC6Ng8Waje
Neville took aim at Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes for their hasty exit after the match and the lack of chemistry with certain young players at the club. Issues between young star Mason Greenwood and club legend Cristiano Ronaldo have been reported earlier as well.
Speaking on a post-match TV show after the hard-fought draw against Newcastle United, Neville expressed his frustration and revealed the issues surrounding the dressing room. He said:
‘Something isn’t right in there. ‘There is definitely whingeing going on. They are all at each other. The spirit of a dressing room is really important and I don’t think they’re all with each other at the moment.’
Ralf Rangnick points towards Manchester United's inability to be more physical on the pitch
Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has expressed his displeasure over his side's inability to play with more physicality in their game against Newcastle United on Tuesday. He said he was not impressed with Manchester United's overall performance at Saint James' Park, with the match eventually ending in a disappointing 1-1 draw.
Allan Saint-Maximin opened the scoring for the Magpies early in the first half before Edinson Cavani came off the bench in the second half to score the equalizer for the Red Devils in the last quarter of the game. Speaking about his team's performance against Newcastle United, Rangnick said:
"Today was not a question of body language, it was a question of body physicality. If you want to be competitive here you have to get physical and this was not the case in many parts of the game."
He continued:
"I didn't like the performance at all. Today we didn't control the game apart from a few moments. It's all about energy, physicality and who wins the second balls. In all those areas we weren't at our best. The good thing is we got a point but the performance needs to be better."
🗣 "I don't think this was our biggest problem today."
Ralf Rangnick disagrees that the Manchester United players body language was the problem today https://t.co/eQMgR1s5d0
Manchester United currently sit seventh in the Premier League table, 22 points behind leaders Manchester City with three games in hand over the defending champions.