Interim manager Ralf Rangnick believes the group closer against Young Boys is a great chance to get to know more of his players.
Follow Us
Manchester United will finish their group stage assignments in the Champions League against Young Boys in midweek. Having qualified top of the group after beating Villarreal in their last match, the Wednesday night match means more for the opponents than for the Old Trafford outfit. However, interim manager Ralf Rangnick believes the group closer against Young Boys is a great chance to get to know more of his players. In his first match in-charge of the club, he led the Reds to a positive 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday. But he was only able to see a limited number of Manchester United players in action. Hence, the European match against the Swiss champions will be the perfect platform to allow some fringe players the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Having already qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League as Group F winners, the European game provides a chance for both youngsters and senior players to be in the Manchester United line-up today. Young Boys have already beaten United in the reverse fixture and they can still qualify for the Europa League. Asked if it’s a big game for them on Wednesday night, Ralf Rangnick told the club media, “Yes, they are under pressure, more than we are.”
“Result-wise, we are not under pressure, but our ethos is to win games, and we want to play in a way that we still dominate the game. In the end, it’s about winning. It’s not about just playing nice football or intensive football. It’s about winning. So again, the players who will play, they will want to win the game, and maybe then, in a way, also make up for the defeat in the first round [of games].”
Manchester United fixtures in the upcoming weeks are relatively easy compared to their rivals, nonetheless, the winter period is a hectic one, with matches coming thick and fast. Hence, the opportunity to rotate the squad in a mid-week match during that busy period will be a welcome boost for Ralf Rangnick.
? In front of the camera
? In front of the media
? In front of the fansGo behind the scenes of Ralf Rangnick’s first few days at Old Trafford, with @TeamViewer‘s ?????? ????…#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 8, 2021
The interim manager then opened up about the new staff he will be bringing into his backroom team. Ralf Rangnick started, “Sascha Lense, who we employed as a sports psychologist, or a mental coach – whatever you want to call him – we worked together for three years at Leipzig, in the year I won promotion myself, and, in the two following years, he was working together with Ralph Hassenhuttl and Zsolt Low. So the fact that I know him has been of great help.”
Ralf Rangnick explained: “He’s a former Second Division player himself. He’s very much working on the field, on-hand, not in theory, not in putting anyone on the red sofa or whatever the cliches with these kind of jobs elsewhere. He should help everybody: the team, the players, even the coaching staff. To help the brain, to assist the body and not to work against it. I couldn’t put it probably in any other words than that. It’s helping, again, to train the brain, thinking the right things, always stay, in a way, on the bright side of life, if I may say so. That’s his job.
“And Chris Armas will be one of my assistant coaches. Since Michael [Carrick] is no longer there for me, it was clear that we need somebody. The thing about Chris, again, is that we’ve known each other for six, seven years. He was the assistant coach of Jesse Marsch at the New York Red Bulls. He’s then become head coach at the New York Red Bulls, and then at Toronto. So he’s well acquainted with the proactive kind of football we want to play also in the future. And, therefore, I’m very happy to have him on board.”
