Revealed: What Rangnick wants from the players

Since the German was appointed by the club on Monday, much has been made of his signature ‘gegenpressing’ style that he has developed during his innovative career. 

Rangnick’s tactical approach is widely credited for revolutionising German football and it has also directly influenced a plethora of elite coaches across the continent, including the likes of Jurgen Klopp, Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel, to name just a few. 

During his sit-down interview with club reporter Stewart Gardner, our new interim manager is asked to explain his approach to fans of English football who may not be aware. 

“I mean, in football it’s all about control,” says Rangnick, in our revealing interview filmed at Old Trafford. “If you want to win games you have to have control no matter if the other team has got the ball or you are in possession of the ball yourself. 

“This is probably one of the major targets in the next couple of weeks, to help the team to have control on the game, and at least against the top teams in the last couple of weeks. 

“I saw the games against Liverpool and Manchester City, at Chelsea even though we won a point there, and even against teams like Watford, the team didn’t have control. They didn’t have control over the game and this is something we will try to achieve. 

“Of course, this has to do with what do we do when we have the ball ourselves, and what are we going to do when the other team has the ball. In those two areas, I think it’s important to develop the team in the next couple of weeks. 

“On the other hand, we won’t have that much training time, because we play every three days, so it’s about video footage, using video material as an important tool to develop the team, train the brains and at the same time encourage the players to do the right things. 

“I think it’s important to win games in the first instance, and then step by step develop the team in the right direction.”

Watch more of our Ralf Rangnick interview from 08:00 GMT on Saturday.