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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Man Utd dressing room's wide-ranging complaints about Ralf Rangnick regime

Manchester United players reportedly had several complaints about Ralf Rangnick during his underwhelming six-month spell in charge.

The German was appointed as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's temporary successor last November but could only manage a sixth-place finish in the Premier League. United recorded their lowest points total - 58 - since 1989-90 and failed to end their five-year wait for a trophy.

Rumours of dressing room unrest at Old Trafford have dominated the headlines in recent months thanks to some anonymous sources and, even though Erik ten Hag has now succeeded Rangnick, damning reports are continuing to surface in the press.

The latest comes courtesy of the Manchester Evening News, who claim Rangnick was labelled "specs" behind his back. One player even "bluntly described" the interim manager's substitutions as "bad" - highlighting their 4-1 away defeat to local rivals Manchester City. United were only 2-1 down when the changes in question were made.

Players reportedly received "no instructions, no game plan, no position plan". A source said: "They [the coaching staff] didn't have a f****** clue what they were doing".

Rumours claim the players thought Rangnick's assistant Chris Armas was particularly out of his depth. It's believed Armas was mockingly nicknamed "Ted Lasso" by the squad - a nod to the fictional American football coach who struggles to understand soccer.

Ralf Rangnick's time in charge of Manchester United did not go to plan (Getty Images)

How do you assess Ralf Rangnick's time in charge of Manchester United? Let us know in the comments below!

One player is thought to have complained about Rangnick after being spoken to "like a child" and "didn't give a s***" about his advice, while another was labelled the "teacher's pet" by his fellow team-mates after forming a working relationship with the coach.

Last but not least, some players found Anthony Elanga's playing time "mind-boggling". The 20-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough season at Old Trafford, making 27 appearances in all competitions - most of which came following Rangnick's appointment.

Ten Hag will have his work cut out at Old Trafford. He has started his tenure at United and will be unveiled to the press on Monday. "I really look forward to doing this job, at this club with massive history, and we want to restore it where it belongs," said Ten Hag.

Rumours of dressing room unrest were verified by United legend Paul Scholes in April after the team's 3-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates. "It’s an absolute mess," he told BT Sport. "It’s a disaster of a dressing room. I had a quick chat with Jesse [Lingard] the other day. I’m sure he won’t mind me saying. He said, 'The dressing room is just a disaster'."

Responding to those claims, Rangnick said: "I don’t know, you have to ask Jesse Lingard if you have this information... there is massive disappointment in the locker room for sure. This is normal. It would be rather a problem if that was different so this is for me normal.

"I think the whole group, they get on reasonably with each other. I’m not daring to say they get on well with each other but I don’t see that there is an issue with regard to the atmosphere in the locker room."

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