Last weeks of tenure have been so disappointing, says Rangnick

RALF RANGNICK admitted he has been left disappointed with performances during his spell as Manchester United caretaker manager. The German took charge of his last home game at Old Trafford last night and will now move into a two-year consultancy role at United, combining the job with becoming the new manager of Austria. Rangnick has overseen the second half of a tumultuous season that could end with the club’s lowest points tally in any Premier League campaign. Erik ten Hag will leave Ajax this summer to replace Rangnick, becoming United’s fifth permanent manager since Sir

Alex Ferguson left nine years ago, immediately after their most recent league title win. Speaking to Sky Sports, Rangnick said: ‘In the end, I’m not happy with the results (overall), especially in the last four or five weeks. Until the West Ham game, we were still in the race in three competitions. ‘We had good moments until that West Ham game, we conceded less goals but the last few weeks, performances have not been as good as they should have been. We have lacked consistency.’

Rangnick added that he has been unable to make plans with incoming boss Ten Hag because of the latter’s commitments at Ajax. ‘So far, we haven’t been able to speak. Erik’s focus is on winning the Dutch league, our focus was on our games,’ he said. ‘It’s obvious quite a few players will leave and there is a need for topquality players. I strongly believe that if everyone works together, we can bring this club back to where we need to be. ‘Other clubs only needed two or three transfer windows to challenge but, from now on, we need to bring in topquality players who really help raise the level. If this happens then I don’t think it should take too long.’ Speaking in his programme notes, Rangnick hit back at the doom-mongers hailing ‘the fall of Manchester United’ as supporters staged a walkout at Old Trafford in protest against the Glazer ownership. 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. If we have clarity in our actions from now on, we can make some big steps in the right direction.’ 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.