NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT, RANGNICK

THE Austrian FA have clearly not been watching Manchester United in the past few weeks.

If they had, they would surely not have decided to woo interim boss Ralf Rangnick with an offer to coach the Austria national team.

While United’s form has fallen off a cliff, along with their hopes of a Champions League place, the German has emerged from the five-month debacle of his tenure with his reputation intact.

While the standing of United’s players has plummeted, 63-year-old Rangnick is about to take his first steps into international management, along with a consultancy role at Old Trafford.

Nice work if you can get it, yet there was an inherent hypocrisy in the revelation of Rangnick’s new job, not to mention poor timing, coming two hours before such a big game.

On the eve of the game, he insisted his focus was solely on United and demanded the same from the players, claiming they owed it to the fans to finish a miserable season strongly.

But with Rangnick and his representatives negotiating a new job while United still have four games to play, the 63-year-old’s focus was clearly not restricted to his current role.

When the interim manager is plotting his escape route from the club even before the season is over, you know things are really bad.

Against that backdrop, new permanent boss Erik Ten Hag cannot begin work soon enough at United, who no doubt wish they could have him start now, such is the sense of drift at the club.

Outside Old Trafford there were fresh anti-glazer protests, while inside there was a bigger police presence around the perimeter of the pitch, to deal with any potential flashpoints.

The stadium was barely three-quarters full at kick-off, as fans protested outside, their dismay at the demise of the club reflected by the insipid atmosphere inside the famous arena and the lack of fight on the pitch.