Dimitar Berbatov hopes Ralf Rangnick handing early chances to Manchester United’s young players will be a sign of things to come at Old Trafford.
The new interim manager has begun his reign in a promising fashion, having started out with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace before being held to a 1-1 draw by Young Boys in the Champions League.
He’ll be aiming to continue that unbeaten start as United head to Norwich on Saturday, where some of the club’s youngsters will be hoping to feature once again.
Rangnick’s early days have seen a number of the club’s bright prospects given their chance to shine, with Anthony Elanga handed an opportunity from the bench against Palace, while Amad, Teden Mengi, Shola Shoretire, Charlie Savage and Zidane Iqbal all featured in midweek.
And, in his latest column for Betfair, former United striker Berbatov lauded Rangnick’s early days at Old Trafford.
“Taking into consideration the circumstances, it's been a good start for Ralf Rangnick at Old Trafford,” Berbatov said.
“It was great to see a lot of young players represent the club in the Champions League, I'm sure that was a great experience for them, it is also a great way for Rangnick to get to know the ins and outs of the club too.
“I'm sure he has been speaking to the academy staff and Darren Fletcher and it was a great moment for the young players to show the new manager what they can do against a good team. I hope they take that experience and run with it.
“I hope that it is going to continue in this way and when the young players take their opportunity they are kept in mind and more opportunities are given to let them to shine and to get them involved on the match day.
“It has always been the United way to bring through young players, and it's good to Rangnick pick up on that. The DNA of the United team is so important and I'm sure that he knows that.
“Overall, it's been a positive start for him but it's still too early to make a judgement on how things are going to go.”
Berbatov also believes Rangnick now has the perfect chance to rack up the wins over the next few weeks, with games against Norwich, Brentford, Brighton, Newcastle and Burnley to come before the end of the year.
“If the players and manager take this run of games seriously, and they know that if they can be consistent during this period then they can climb the table.
“I expect to see United rack up the wins to be honest and it is very possible, but only if they don't underestimate their opponents.
“The job of the manager during this time is enormous, he has to control things, change the team around and rotate so that he has fresh and happy players given the amount of matches.
“I don't care how they get the wins, 1-0 is still three points, they have a job to do in these next six games, go out there and give the fans a good Christmas.”
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