January 07, (THEWILL) – In the wake of rumours of dressing room strife at Manchester United, interim manager Ralf Rangnick has conceded that some members of his squad are “unhappy”
Morale has reportedly decreased in recent weeks, with cliques forming as a result of a number of players being disillusioned with their lack of playing time under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Rangnick.
After the 1-0 defeat against Wolves earlier this week, it was discovered that morale was at an all-time low among the Red Devils’ squad and that as many as 11 players want to leave the club, with several even claiming to be displeased with Rangnick’s coaching, tactics, and assistants.
When asked about the situation during his pre-match news conference ahead of Monday night’s FA Cup third-round encounter against Aston Villa, the German replied he “didn’t know” of this state of affairs.
“I can only tell you about the squad,” he said. “Obviously, I don’t know about the atmosphere inside the club, the players, locker room, coaching staff, everybody was very disappointed after the game [against Wolves], the performance.
“Now we have four days of training, yesterday, today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow before the Aston Villa game, and our job is to show a different performance against Aston Villa.”
In response to how serious United’s present troubles are, Rangnick said, “This is not just an issue with a club like Manchester United. With such a large group, we had most of the players available in the last two games. We were without three centre-backs against Wolves.
“In general, we had most of the players available, apart from Paul Pogba and ten few players can play, three subbed, then you have quite a number of players who don’t even play or not even in the squad.
“Those players are unhappy about the situation, it’s obvious, clear. I tend to explain to players every two or three weeks why they are not playing and that is an issue in our team and other clubs.
“We have players with contracts expiring in the summer. We also have one or two more people who want to leave and are under contract. It’s about the players dealing with that in a professional way, showing up in training, showing up, getting a chance to play.
“If this is not the case, the player, club, and agents need to discuss the situation. I cannot say to anyone else. I will address that to the players directly.
The manager added: “We have made some progress but obviously versus Wolves was a step back, a relapse to habits we have shown in the past.
“We need to insist that we need to work together. We can only get better in possession of the ball, together. We have to do things together. With passion, emotion and intensity.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
