Rio Ferdinand believes Ralf Rangnick will have to rebuild Manchester United from the ground up and help the club rediscover an identity lost by previous managers.
Rangnick has now been confirmed as United’s new interim manager, with the former RB Leipzig boss taking charge for the remainder of the season before moving into a consultancy role on a two-year deal.
The 63-year-old will be tasked with steadying the ship before handing over the reins to a permanent successor in the summer.
A decision on that front is yet to be made, although United remain confident they can lure Mauricio Pochettino away from Paris Saint-Germain, with the former Tottenham boss also keen on a return to England.
For now though, it is Rangnick who will be tasked with improving United’s fortunes in a season that promised much more than it is currently delivering.
And United legend Ferdinand, who twice called for his former team-mate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to be sacked, believes the club have secured the right man to take them forward.
“I’m happy with it, I’ve seen a lot of people disgruntled, a lot of people in the media saying ‘why’s he got it?’” Ferdinand told Vibe with FIVE.
“People keep judging this situation based on Man United 10 years ago. Man United are in a completely different place now, they need to be rebuilt.
“People keep talking about the Man United DNA. That’s not been there for years now, what we all know and grew to love over the years.
“It’s chopped and changed with managers, they have different ideas, they put a different DNA on their team which hasn’t necessarily reflected what Man United was about before.
“Now they have an opportunity with somebody who has the experience and understanding, and knows the detail behind building not only a team, but a club from the ground up.
“Not that the club needs building, but from a certain point, there’s a DNA, a philosophy, and understanding of what you want to do, and an identity needs to be recreated that fits Man United.
“There’s no better person in the world for me right now who would be able to do all of those things. It’s a big ask, a club of this size.”
Ferdinand added: “It’s not just about the first team, because we’ve had so many managers come in and try to rebuild the team to go on and be successful. They’ve failed, big names like Van Gaal and Mourinho, it just hasn’t happened, it hasn’t happened under Ole either.
“You need somebody who can build from the ground up. He’s done it at Leipzig, yes they’re not world-renowned teams, but he’s somebody who knows how to do it.
“The biggest thing for me, which you’ve all been screaming about, every fan talks about it, I talked about it until I went blue in the face, I didn’t see an identity at Man United.
“This guy has an absolute identity with the way he wants to play. You can do your research, listen to what he’s said at seminars, the guy has clear points and ways that he wants teams counter-pressing, counter-attacking, he understands exactly what it means.”
Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.
