Louis Saha slams Man Utd ‘mistakes’ and calls Rangnick out for ‘lack of understanding’
Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has admitted that recent mistakes both on and off the pitch have led to the current criticism of the club.
The Red Devils have suffered a patchy season so far and their subsequent main aim is top-four Premier League finish. After crashing out of the FA Cup, arguably their best chance at silverware went.
Indeed, United are not one of the favourites for Champions League glory heading into the last 16 this month.
The Old Trafford club had a strong start to the season, with Cristiano Ronaldo making an instant impact. However, the results turned sour and former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer paid the price.
Ralf Rangnick is now interim boss, but he has faced reports of dressing room discontent and divide. Nevertheless, he has insisted that improving results is all that matters. And United are, since he arrived, in better league form than before.
According to Saha, the lack of leaders, team spirit and the sometimes questionable team selections are the “obvious critique” of Man Utd this term.
However, speaking to the Daily Mail, he added: “This is the problem and then on top there is obviously some issues that we’ve seen like the transfers and management.
“It’s quite difficult to just put that down to Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure.
“There has been some mistakes along the line, but things are going in the right direction, even if we’re expecting that we should be better.
“It’s a tough one because it’s such a big club.”
United also attracted attention during the January transfer window – but not for new signings.
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Instead, the focus was firmly on player exits. Donny van de Beek and Anthony Martial got loan exits to Everton and Sevilla, respectively. Jesse Lingard, though, failed to get a move away.
Newcastle wanted him, but reports claimed that the Red Devils priced their Premier League rivals out of a move.
Saha calls out Rangnick over Lingard
Rangnick subsequently claimed that the midfielder asked for some days off so he could “clear his mind”. Lingard hit back, claiming that the club advised him to take time off.
Saha added that he does not think Rangnick handled the situation well.
“I try to bring that down to a lack of understanding of the club’s stature, like understanding that every word will be misinterpreted or exaggerated because it’s Manchester United,” Saha added.
“You have a lot more impression going all over the world and if you don’t manage that correctly, you’re going to end up with trouble.
“Every little thing like this used to be easier to control by the managers and from the top because there was a different situation with the press and no social media.
“Now the players have a lot more tools at their disposal, same as their agents, so there is leaks everywhere if you’re not careful. It’s really hard to manage that. If you’re trying to be strong on people it’s difficult.”
Saha added that it is “so sad” to see United marred by “strange situations”.
United return to action on Tuesday when playing Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League.
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