Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick says that he was keen to convince the departing Michael Carrick to stay at the club.
In the immediate aftermath of our 3-2 victory over Arsenal on Thursday evening, it was announced that Carrick has taken the decision to step down from his role as first-team coach, after more than 15 years as a player and staff member at United.
It means that Michael will not be a part of Rangnick’s coaching team over the coming months and speaking in his first press conference since being appointed, Ralf revealed that he had held a lengthy discussion with our former midfielder in which he tried to convince him to stay at the club.
The German says he can completely understand the decision, made by the man who has taken caretaker charge of our last three matches, and signed off by overseeing the midweek win over the Gunners at Old Trafford.
“Michael, I got to know this [decision] two days ago,”Rangnick told journalists in his inaugural press conference at Old Trafford.
“I met with Michael and Kieran [McKenna] but especially with Michael two days ago.
“I had a long private conversation with him for more than an hour and I was trying to convince him to stay on board, but he had obviously taken that decision weeks ago that he needed a break and a rest after 30 years of professional football.
“In the end, I had to accept that, and in a way, I can also understand his decision.”
Our interim manager says the knowledge of our current staff will be vital moving forward, while he also outlined plans to bring some coaching reinforcements in, when asked about the subject in his first meeting with the media.
“I’m more than happy to work with the current coaching staff because I need their experience, I need their expertise regarding the current squad,”the 63-year-old said.
“I will obviously try to find one, two, maybe three people who can join us in the next one or two weeks but due to the Brexit regulations, it’s not that easy.
“Many of my former colleagues, no matter if it’s video analysts or assistant coaches are in long-term contracts with big clubs, so they are not available right now, so we have to be a little bit smart and clever and find the right people.
“I hope that we can get them in here in the next one or two weeks, but I cannot tell you anymore.”