Ralf outlines importance of tactical discipline
Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick believes that the Reds have developed both offensively and defensively in his time at the club, and is urging his side to strike a balance between the two.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Everton, the German revealed that, during his time at United, he has had to adapt his tactical focus.
“In [my] first couple of weeks [at the club], we put more focus into being more stable defensively, conceding not that many goals, which we did," he said.
“And then, at one stage, we also found out that we need a plan in possession of the ball to create chances ourselves, and we improved in that area.
Part 1: Ralf’s press conference v Everton
In the first part of his media briefing: Rangnick on the manager search, his future role and a good week’s training…
“Right now it’s about getting both together," he added. "Bringing both parts together, [deciding] what we are going to do in possession of the ball and still be aggressive and compact against the ball.”
In addition to tactical discipline, Rangnick believes, to come away from Goodison Park with three points, the Reds need to match the competitive mindset of Frank Lampard’s side, something that he feels his team has not done enough this season.
“We had [commitment] quite often, but not consistently,” he said “We had a good week of training, we trained well, we trained on a very aggressive level in the last couple of days. Now it is up to us to play as we trained in the last couple of days.
“It’s a question of who is more competitive tomorrow, who is more aggressive, who is winning the second balls.
“[There will be] a lot of high balls and second balls. We have to be prepared for that competitive game tomorrow.”
United play Everton in the Premier League at Goodison Park on Saturday, 9 April at 12:30 BST, looking for a victory that would take us level on points with Tottenham and Arsenal in the table.