From the moment Ralf Rangnick arrived at Manchester United as interim manager, I have respected his honesty in interviews about the job at hand.
I’m sure the German expected better results but there was a feeling that the club threw the towel in with his appointment midway through the season, instead of going all out for Erik ten Hag back in November.
At the same time, it would be fair to say Rangnick’s honesty has been divisive.
Some find it refreshing because he is doing it without crossing a line like Jose Mourinho did on a number of occasions at Old Trafford, while others – like Rio Ferdinand – find it distasteful.
“I don’t agree with the way that he’s airing the dirty laundry in public while he’s still in the hotseat, while he’s still in there,” Ferdinand said on his Vibe with FIVE YouTube show about Rangnick.
“It’s nice sometimes for fans, you want to get a bit of insight, but there’s information that he’s letting out [that he shouldn’t be].
“You’re still in the job, man, relax, have some respect for the people around you. Make waves behind the scenes. Push and pull and jostle for positions and outcomes behind the scenes with people.
“I’ve said this for a couple of weeks now, he’s saying a lot of stuff to almost distance himself from responsibility. But he has to accept some responsibility that the team has got worse since he’s been in there.”
There is also an argument that Rangnick’s words would carry more weight if he was as good at managing the team as he is when it comes to speaking to the media.
“For all the great work he’s done at previous clubs, a lot of that was recruitment and bringing players in. He’s been brought in to be a manager and manage this team and navigate them to Champions League football,” he added.
“He’s failed in that department, and that’s undeniable. But then he’s shifting blame all over the place and that’s the bit that I find a little bit distasteful.”
Rangnick won’t be in the public eye as much in his consultancy-based role at the end of the season. Then, it will ultimately be up to Erik ten Hag to decide how much of an influence Rangnick will have on the first team going forward.
Maybe thats exactly what he should do, instead of protecting the playersM