Scholes: How was Rangnick appointed by Man Utd?
- Planet Sport writer
- 15 March 2022
Red Devils legend questions decision to appoint German but says Old Trafford club should be able to attract 'whatever manager they want' next.
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes turned his wrath on current boss Ralf Rangnick after the Red Devils crashed out of the Champions League.
Having watched Atleti win 1-0 on the night for a 2-1 aggregate success, Scholes said he had no idea how Rangnick had been appointed in the first place and said the Red Devils needed to hire "a proper coach" to give them any chance of returning to the top table of English and European football.
Scholes told BT Sport: "I don't want to keep having a go at this manager, he seems a really nice man, I love his interviews, he comes out and he's very honest, but how he was chosen to be manager or coach of this club, whether it's six months, six weeks or six games, I don't know.
"This isn't a terrible group of players. If you give this lot structure and a way of playing there's some real talent in this squad.
"It's not as talented as the teams above them, we know that, but the very first thing this club neds to do to get anywhere need winning the league again is get a proper coach, get a coach that suits them, and give them two or three years to build a squad which will challenge."
Renan Lodi's first-ever #UCL goal could be a crucial one for Atletico! 👊 pic.twitter.com/dF0t7QS1A9
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The former England midfielder, who was part of two Champions League-winning squads during his time at United, suggested that had Atleti boss Diego Simeone been in the home dugout, the Red Devils would have progressed to the quarter-finals.
"They are not a better team than Man United but they've got a better coach, a more experienced coach who knows how to get a result," he added. "If he (Simeone) is coaching Man United, they go through in that game."
Guardiola, Klopp 'not possible'
Rangnick is due to his Old Trafford role at the end of the season and Scholes said United "should be able to get whatever manager they want".
He said: "You can't talk about (Pep) Guardiola and (Jurgen) Klopp, that's not possible, but anyone else in the world should be available to this club."
However, his former team-mate Rio Ferdinand disagreed.
"There's so much work to be done here," said the former defender.
"It's a great project to be a part of, because you are starting from scratch basically but I still think there are other clubs that managers will go 'I might want to go there cos the heat ain't on as much, the spotlight ain't as big."
United's defeat means their wait for silverware will head into a sixth year next season.
Their most recent trophy came by winning the 2016/17 Europa League under Jose Mourinho.
'Not good enough'
"Of course it's not good enough," said goalkeeper David de Gea, talking about the trophy drought.
"It's hard for the club, for us and the fans.
"This is where we are at the moment. It is a difficult situation, but we have to keep fighting."
Rangnick himself said his sole focus was on the final nine games of the season.
"We still have another nine games to play in the Premier League," he said.
"It's possible to qualify for the Champions League again (United are a point behind fourth-placed Arsenal having played three games more).
"We are fully aware in order to achieve that we need to win most of those nine games.
"Right now, to think about how we can close the gap to the top teams it's, for me, too early. My focus is on finishing at the highest possible level with this team."
