Arriving as Manchester United’s new manager, Ralf Rangnick can’t have expected just what he has had to go through in his first few weeks.
That first game against Crystal Palace feels like a lifetime ago now, such has been the chaos caused by the latest Covid outbreak across the Premier League, with United in particular feeling its effects.
Postponements of the Brentford and Brighton games won’t have been welcomed by Rangnick, given the upturn in form United have enjoyed in recent weeks, and the raft of positive tests at Carrington will of course have been a major disruption to the work that the German is still very much in the early throes of.
But, after a worrying week in which horrible memories of the very beginning of the pandemic came home to roost, with fears the season may have to come a grinding halt allayed for now, there is at least some welcome news for United.
No official number was given as to the amount of positive Covid cases at the club, although for Carrington to be shut down indicates the situation was in danger of getting out of hand.
With the training ground now open though, Rangnick’s players have been reporting back to work, with an encouraging update supplied by Marcus Rashford.
“The lads have been training and today we brought all the rest of the lads back to training, there are only a couple left that will be coming in tomorrow," Rashford told the club’s website.
“So, we’ve pretty much got the full squad back, which is a positive going into the week.”
Players heading back to training might not seem like the most thrilling of updates, but given the uncertainty around the league at the moment as positive cases creep towards the 100 mark, it can’t be underestimated how significant a full squad could be for United.
The Premier League have made it clear they’re going to plough on despite rising cases, so it’s perfectly possible – and also very likely – we could see more and more sides having to play with depleted squads.
If United can avoid any more major outbreaks, then the next few weeks will provide Rangnick and his side the perfect opportunity to kick on in the New Year, and make some major inroads in their race for the top four.
The fixtures heading into 2022 are certainly favourable for United, with a trip to Newcastle and home games against Burnley and Wolves over the festive period giving Rangnick the chance to extend his winning start to life as interim boss.
Tricky back-to-back meetings with Aston Villa follow, with United hosting Steven Gerrard’s side in the FA Cup before heading to Villa Park in the league, while a crucial meeting with West Ham rounds off January, and comes a week after Arsenal face Tottenham.
We’re going to learn a lot about United, and how much the players are buying into their new interim boss, over the next few weeks, with those three games over Christmas and New Year crucial as they look to take some momentum in what will be some important games at the end of January.
United haven’t yet fired on all cylinders against Palace and Norwich, but managing to come away from those games with victories and clean sheets does denote a mentality change from the players.
Rangnick may well be having an effect, and he now has the opportunity to send his side roaring into 2022 and getting their ambitions back on track.
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