United must create ‘clear identity’ as City, says Ralf Rangnick | football news

LONDON (AP) — Manchester United caretaker manager Ralf Rangnick says the club needs to develop the kind of “clear identity” established by rivals Manchester City and Liverpool as it prepares to take charge of its first derby.
Rangnick, whose side travel to Premier League leaders City on Sunday, was signed after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in November.
The 63-year-old German will start a two-year consultant role after the season ends but has not ruled himself out for the permanent manager role.
“What is obvious, not only with Manchester City but also with Liverpool, they have had continuity and consistency in the position of their manager, their head coach, for the last five or six years,” he said in his press conference. pre-match. conference on Friday.
“They have a very clear identity, a clear idea of ​​how they want to play.
“I know Jurgen (Klopp) personally and I also know Pep (Guardiola) from those three years in Germany when he was coach of Bayern Munich.
Rangnick said that the secret to their success was that they knew exactly how they wanted to play.
“They have a clear identity, or you can also call it a corporate identity, and this is their guide for everything they do,” he said.
“Probably not only for new players, but also for staff members, for experts in different areas of the game that have become a little bit more important in the last 10 or 15 years.
“This is what all the best clubs in Europe have in common. This is something that I think also at Manchester United needs to be developed and improved in the coming years.”
United have a surprisingly good record at City’s Etihad Stadium in recent years and Rangnick has received a derby boost with the return of Edinson Cavani.
The 35-year-old has not played since a 1-1 draw at Burnley on February 8 after suffering a groin problem.
United have struggled to convert chances in recent weeks: Rangnick’s men took 22 shots without finding the net in last Saturday’s 0-0 draw against relegation-threatened Watford.
Cristiano Ronaldo has managed just one goal in 10 games and will be desperate to get back on the scoreboard on Sunday.
“We know we are playing against one of the best, if not the best team in Europe and the world,” Rangnick said.
He added: “It will be a matter of tactical discipline, it will take a lot of defensive work, a lot of sprinting, running, against the ball, with the ball, waiting for the transition and then taking advantage of our opportunities.
“We created a lot in the last 10 or 11 games. Sometimes we converted them, like in Leeds, where we scored four goals.
“But it’s correct, we should have scored more goals.”