Manchester United are badly in need of a major makeover.
The club's standards have slipped to a frightening degree in recent years, so much so that the heavy 4-1 defeat in this afternoon's Manchester derby did not come as a shock.
The current team are well short of the quality required to get the club back to where they want to be. The dressing room seems to lack character, with the next manager needing to ship out some players as soon as possible.
Ralf Rangnick certainly hasn't managed to fix their issues during his short time in charge. The team's fortunes have not improved under his tutelage, with the same issues continuing to plague them on the pitch.
It leads to the question, what the aim of Rangnick's appointment? Was it to immediately improve the team, or was it to identify the issues that the next manager will have to address while the German moves into a behind the scenes role?
Gary Neville & Micah Richards clash over Ralf Rangnick appointment
This was something that Gary Neville and Micah Richards clashed over on Sky Sports this evening.
Neville defended the route the club have travelled down in recent months, while Richards was unsure why they did not choose to instead appoint Antonio Conte.
🗣 "All of his credibility as a manager has gone out the window." @MicahRichards and @GNev2 argue about why Ralf Rangnick was brought in as a interim manager and not the likes of Antonio Conte pic.twitter.com/1FCikJCB80
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 6, 2022
Richards: Why give him the manager's job in the first place? We are talking about the here and now, so you're just going to get rid of this season?
Neville: You're ranting emotionally without making any real sense. Chelsea have appointed interim managers just to get them to the end of the season for when the manager they wants becomes available.
Richards: Just because you're attached to Man United doesn't make my opinion irrelevant. Rangnick best work is done behind the scenes, they brought him in as interim manager and he's not done great.
He is losing all credibility and then he is going to go upstairs. Do you think a new manager is going to listen to Relf Rangnick?
Neville: Stop ranting and tell me what they should have done.
Richards: Gone for Conte! Conte was available before he went to Spurs. He was the best available manager and (they didn't go for him because) he didn't fit the Man United way, what is the Man United way? They don't win trophies anymore.
Conte is a winner.
Neville: They didn't want Conte.
Richards: Why did they not want Conte, do they not want winners? Is that were Man United are, they don't want winners anymore?
Neville: They didn't want him and I agreed with them. Conte is not a manager for Manchester United.
Richards: Why is he not?
Neville: Conte comes in for one or two years and does a great job...
Richards: But he wins! Do you want to be mediocre for the next ten years?
Neville: They've been there with Jose Mourinho. They want to appoint either Pochettino or ten Hag and they needed somebody to get them to the end of the season.
It is difficult to know what side of the argument to fall on here.
While Manchester United may have been correct to wait until the end of the season to appoint their preferred target, Rangnick's role at the club should be questioned up to this point and also moving forward.
It is likely that we won't know the benefits of such a call for a number of years, depending on how the next permanent manager fares at Old Trafford.
SEE ALSO: Roy Keane Calls For Manchester United To Cut Ties With Players After Derby Antics
