Final rallying cry falls flat as fans stage walkout over Glazers
RALF RANGNICK hit back at the doom-mongers hailing ‘the fall of Manchester United’ in his final programme notes as interim manager last night, as supporters staged a walkout at Old Trafford in protest against the Glazer ownership. The German will now move into a two-year consultancy role at United, combining the job with becoming the new manager of Austria, having overseen the second half of a tumultuous season that could end with the club’s lowest points tally in any Premier League campaign. An anti-Glazer march took place before the match, and there was a sizeable walkout 17 minutes
from full time, representing the 17 years since the Americans’ takeover. In his notes, Rangnick said: ‘This season has clearly been a very difficult one for everyone at the club and from the short time I have been here, I can see how much everyone is hurting. ‘I want to be clear, though; this is not the fall of Manchester United. ‘This is a stumble along the way and when you stumble, you have to think quickly and clearly to regain your balance, so you can carry on moving forward. If we have clarity in our actions from now on, we can make some big steps in the right direction.’ Erik ten Hag will leave Ajax this summer to replace Rangnick, becoming United’s fifth permanent manager since Alex Ferguson left nine years ago, immediately after their most recent league title win. Former United captain Roy Keane last night criticised the club’s decision to hire an interim manager when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired in November, rather than bringing in a long-term solution straight away, as Chelsea did with Thomas Tuchel the year before. ‘It’s been a disastrous season,’ said Keane on Sky Sports. ‘Bringing an interim manager in was never going to work. There are a lot of players wanting to leave the club. It’s been a long old season for them and I’m sure they’ll be glad to see the back of it.’ United must win their final two games of the season, at Brighton and Crystal Palace, to sneak past their lowest points tally of 63, set under David Moyes in 2013-14. Keane’s fellow Sky pundit
Gary Neville highlighted the fight that Ten Hag has on his hands to get United back to the top, and challenged the new man to win the Premier League by the end of his fourth season. ‘The job Ten Hag’s got is absolutely huge,’ said Neville. ‘I said four to five years to win the title. (Qualifying for) the Champions League in the first two seasons while he’s sorting the recruitment out, third season getting very close to the title, and win a trophy, maybe. That fourth year, really, is where they have to win a title.’