Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says former interim boss Ralf Rangnick was “absolutely right” about the club needing “open-heart” surgery.
Ten Hag, 54, was appointed manager in 2022 after Rangnick’s seven months in charge.
The German, now in charge of Austria, guided United to sixth in the Premier League but won just 11 of his 29 matches.
Rangnick concluded that the club required “open-heart” surgery and their troubles could not be solved through “minor changes”.
Ten Hag, who signed a one-year contract extension this month, says Rangnick’s analysis was correct.
“Rangnick was absolutely right,” Ten Hag said in an interview with Dutch newspaper AD Sportwereld.
“We have been working very hard on this for two years, but he said it exactly right: it is a thorough, very complex operation. And I knew when I started that it was going to be a tough job.”
United have undergone major changes off the pitch since Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a 27.7% stake in the club last December.
Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth, Jason Wilcox and Christopher Vivell have all joined in positions at board level this year, while the club have committed £50m to improving the training ground.
Forward Joshua Zirkzee and defender Leny Yoro have joined from Bologna and Lille respectively in the past week, while Ten Hag has confirmed interest in Bayern Munich and Netherlands centre-back Matthijs de Ligt.
“It remains to be seen whether De Ligt will come,” said Ten Hag.
“Of course I know Matthijs well, I’m not going to deny that. I wanted to sign him two years ago, but he had already gone a long way with Bayern Munich.”
Despite working with De Ligt at former club Ajax, Ten Hag says it was United’s scouting department that suggested the centre-back as a transfer target.
Ten Hag also confirmed that forward Jadon Sancho, who last appeared for the club in August 2023 and spent the second half of last season on loan at Dortmund after falling out with the manager, is available again for selection.
“Everyone can make a mistake,” said Ten Hag.
Sancho and Yoro both started as goals from Amad Diallo and Joe Hugill saw United beat Rangers 2-0 at Murrayfield in a friendly on Saturday.
“The standard was much better, we were much more on the front foot,” Ten Hag told MUTV. “It was enjoyable to watch.”