Ralf Rangnick expects his Manchester United stars to THRIVE in the highly-charged Elland Road atmosphere when they go away to bitter rivals Leeds this weekend… despite only being told about the two clubs’ long-running feud last week
- Ralf Rangnick believes the Elland Road atmosphere will suit Manchester United
- The Red Devils are due to go away to bitter rivals Leeds United this Sunday
- Rangnick only recently became aware of his club’s rivalry with Leeds a week ago
- The United boss says the atmosphere in the dressing room has improved of late
The bitter rivalry between Manchester United and Leeds may be news to Ralf Rangnick, but he believes it will bring the best out of his players at a highly-charged Elland Road on Sunday.
United haven’t faced the full fury of Leeds fans for more than a decade after last season’s Premier League clash across the Pennines was staged behind closed doors due to the pandemic.
United won on their previous visit to Elland Road in the League Cup in September 2011, and haven’t played in front of a full house there in the top-flight for 18-and-a-half years.
Ralf Rangnick feels his Man United players will benefit from the Elland Road atmosphere
Interim boss Rangnick has only just been made aware of the enmity between the two clubs, but he insists the white-hot atmosphere will only help his players to raise their game.
‘To be honest, I didn’t know that until a week ago but most of my colleagues have already indicated this is one of the biggest rivalries in the Premier League,’ he said on Friday.
‘Of course, I also had quite a few of those local derbies in Germany – Schalke against Borussia Dortmund, to give you one example, and quite a few others.
‘But our players have so much experience playing against teams like that in this atmosphere, and it will hopefully raise our level of performance to play in this environment.
Rangnick wasn’t previously aware of the rivalry but is expecting a white-hot atmosphere
‘It’s great. I think everybody prefers to play in a sold-out stadium rather than an empty one. We’re very much looking forward to that game.’ Rangnick expects a unique challenge from Marcelo Bielsa’s team, but warned that the Argentine’s style also leaves Leeds open to conceding goals.
Although last season’s encounter at Elland Road finished goalless, Leeds’ two visits to Old Trafford since returning to the Premier League ended in heavy 5-1 and 6-2 defeats.
‘This is probably a team that plays with the highest amount of tempo and momentum, and it’s important we don’t allow them to play like that,’ added Rangnick.
‘On the other hand, they have conceded quite a few goals – apart from Norwich, the team with the highest amount. We are well prepared for the game.’ Meanwhile, the German insisted that United’s dressing-room is more settled than at any time since he arrived at Old Trafford in December.
The United interim boss has insisted that the atmosphere in the dressing room has improved
Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford have taken to social media to deny talk of a split in the camp in recent days, and Rangnick believes the squad is happier after Anthony Martial and Donny van de Beek were allowed to leave on loan in the January transfer window.
‘I can only tell you from my personal experience in the last 12 weeks, yes there were players unhappy until the closure of the window,’ said Rangnick, who confirmed that Maguire will remain as captain for the rest of the season.
‘The squad was too big and we had too many players who realised they wouldn’t get game time.
‘This has improved, for sure, and the atmosphere in the locker room is better than it used to be a couple of weeks ago.’
