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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Steven Railston

Meet Ralf Rangnick's coaching staff at Manchester United after two new appointments

Ralf Rangnick has recently added two new faces to Manchester United's coaching staff.

Rangnick was appointed as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's interim successor at the end of last month and he'll remain on the touchline until the end of the season before moving into a consultancy role, however, he has been allowed to add to the coaching staff.

The German has brought Sascha Lense and Chris Armas to the club and both were in the dugout on Saturday away at Norwich.

Almost every member of Solskjaer's coaching staff remain at United following the Norwegian's sacking and that has been a source of bemusement for some supporters, but who exactly are the staff tasked with helping Rangnick on the training ground each day?

The MEN has taken a look at Rangnick's coaching staff in closer detail...

Chris Armas

Rangnick confirmed Chris Armas would replace Michael Carrick as his assistant coach after his exit.

Armas, 49, played in the MLS and for the United States national team in his playing days and he turned his hand to management after retirement. Armas was installed as the New York Red Bulls' assistant in 2015 and he was promoted to first-team coach soon after.

Rangnick was head of sport and development for Red Bull’s football operations while Armas was head coach of the New York Red Bulls for two years 2018 and 2020 and that's where the pair were first introduced.

They will build on that relationship in Manchester after Armas' recent arrival.

Sascha Lense

Sports psychologist Sascha Lense joined Rangnick's staff in time for United's match against BSC Young Boys last week.

Rangnick worked with Lense at RB Leipzig and he has joined the coaching staff as opposed to the health department.

"We have decided to bring in a sports psychologist, with Sascha Lense," Rangnick explained last week.

"He's from Germany, a former second division player. I used to work with him for three years at Leipzig, one year in the year that we won promotion from the second to the first division, with myself, and the following two years when Ralph Hasenhuttl was coach."

Sascha Lense is with the United squad. (Eamonn and James Clarke)

Kieran McKenna

Noise has emerged this season that suggested some of United's players think Kieran McKenna, 35, who progressed to the first team under Jose Mourinho, has dubious credentials to be operating at this level at such a young age.

However, McKenna is well regarded by those at United and it's said he has aspirations to eventually move into management. McKenna began his coaching career at Tottenham and was appointed as United's U18 coach in 2016 before being subsequently promoted.

“I’m more than happy to work with the current coaching staff, I need their expertise regarding the current squad," Rangnick has said.

Mike Phelan

Mike Phelan has faced intense scrutiny surrounding just what exactly his role entails amid United's failures this season.

Rangnick moved to clarify what Phelan does last week: "Mike Phelan is not watching the training sessions - he also didn’t do that when Ole was in charge - but he’s also part of the training group of the staff," said Rangnick.

"But he is never on the pitch when we train. He’s not out there and he didn’t do that when Ole was in charge, as I said. Chris will not replace Mike but much rather Michael Carrick."

Phelan was recently given a three-year contract by United.

Would you like Solskjaer's staff to leave United? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Martyn Pert

Pert, 44, is United's strength and conditioning specialist and he began to study accounting after a failed youth career in football.

University life wasn't for him and he completed his B Licence at 23 and his A Licence at 24. Pert has had spells at Watford, Fulham, Coventry and Cardiff while he's also ventured abroad, having worked with MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps in his career.

Pert has also spent three months working with the Miami Heat and he can speak fluent Portuguese.

Eric Ramsay

Eric Ramsay was appointed as Manchester United's first set-piece specialist and individual development coach this summer.

Ramsay became the youngest Brit to gain his UEFA Pro Licence badge two years ago, which is the top coaching qualification in the game, and he arrived at the club with a lofty reputation despite being in the early stages of his career.

Only Leeds (15) conceded more goals from set-piece scenarios in the Premier League than United last season (14).

Richard Hartis

David de Gea, Dean Henderson and Tom Heaton are used to Richard Hartis putting them through their paces in training.

Hartis had been head of academy goalkeeping under Sir Alex Ferguson for more than 10 years until 2010 and Solskjaer brought him back to the club two years ago soon after his permanent appointment, with Hartis becoming the senior goalkeeper coach.

Hartis spent time working under Solskjaer at Molde and Cardiff City and he also helped England Under 17s win the 2017 World Cup.

Richard Hawkins

Richard Hawkins is United’s head of human performance, who oversaw how the squad would deal with the pandemic before the situation worsened last year. Hawkins had previously been the head of sports science at the FA and at West Brom.

Hawkins joined United in 2008 and he makes sure that Rangnick's players stay in peak condition.

Michael Clegg

After graduating from United's academy during his playing days, Michael Clegg had spells at Ipswich Town, Wigan Athletic and Oldham Athletic. He became Sunderland's strength and conditioning coach, as appointed by Roy Keane, in 2006.

Solskjaer brought Clegg back to United as the club's strength and power coach ahead of his first full season as manager.

Edward Leng

"We try not to be on top of players, but we want to collect data to find out what are their strengths, their weaknesses and then build individual programmes off the back of that,” Edward Leng has said when describing his role.

Leng joined United from Melbourne City and he's currently lead sports scientist.

We’ve teamed up with LiveScore to invite fans to vote for their favourite results - the games which were much more than a score. Vote for the match that mattered to you here .

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