Roy Keane says Ralf Rangnick could find it difficult to be Austria boss and consultant at Man United

Roy Keane says Ralf Rangnick sharing his Manchester United consultancy with potentially becoming Austria’s new manager ‘adds to the confusion’ at Old Trafford and feels it could be ‘difficult’ for him to do both jobs

Roy Keane believes Ralf Rangnick could find it difficult to manage being the new coach of the Austrian national team, while continuing his consultancy role at Manchester United.

Sportsmail reported that Rangnick is weighing up an offer to become the manager of Austria and could walk away from Old Trafford before his two-year consultancy role gets underway in the summer.

After United’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea, interim manager Rangnick refused to rule out the rumours but insisted he would stick with his plans to be a consultant at the club from the end of the season.

Sportsmail broke news that Ralf Rangnick is considering an offer to become Austria manager

When asked for his thoughts about the possibility of Rangnick managing Austria on the side of his duties at United, Keane told Sky Sports: ‘Not great I think it just adds to the confusion. 

‘He said consultancy, that could be two days a month. He obviously wouldn’t be at the club every day.

‘If he takes the international job it’s a huge job in itself. So I think it would be difficult to do the two roles but who knows, to be fair difficult interview but he said he would focus on United till the end of the season and he will have to cross that bridge when he gets to it at the end of the season.’

Roy Keane has reacted to the news by stating that a ‘clean break might not be a bad thing’

When Keane reacted to Sportsmail’s exclusive story before the game, he said that a ‘clean break might not be a bad thing’ for both United and Rangnick.

But when asked by Sky Sports in his post-match interview for an update, the German said he was ‘happy to help’ at Old Trafford.

When asked about Austria, he said: ‘I’d like to speak tonight about Man United and our game and the rest of the season. I can definitely confirm that I will continue at the end of this season with my consultancy role.   

‘I wouldn’t say I would be a big part moving forward, but agreed on content and time of my consultancy role and I have said I haven’t spoken to Erik. I’m more than happy and willing to help and change things for the better.

It means Rangnick could walk away from United before his two-year consultancy role begins

It means Rangnick could walk away from United before his two-year consultancy role begins

‘It would leave space for another job but that was what we agreed when I started the job in November.’

A formal announcement could be made by the Austrian Football Association about Rangnick on Friday.

Rangnick has been tempted by the opportunity to succeed Franco Foda, and Manchester United have so far refused to comment on the matter.

The Austrian FA denied suggestions earlier this month that Rangnick had met with their sporting director Peter Schottel in Manchester, but FA president Gerhard Milletich is expected to announce the new coach in Vienna on Friday and there is growing speculation that the former Schalke and RB Leipzig boss could get the job.

Ajax boss Ten Hag will take over the permanent role as manager at Old Trafford in the summer

Ajax boss Ten Hag will take over the permanent role as manager at Old Trafford in the summer

Rangnick’s consultancy role has remained somewhat vague ever since he joined United from Lokomotiv Moscow in December as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s temporary replacement.

It was thought that he could step into a senior role and even have a major say in the choice of new manager, but Rangnick admitted that he hasn’t even spoken to Erik ten Hag.

Indeed, the terms of his contract at United for the next two years only involve working as few as six days a month.

Ten Hag’s spell as interim manager hasn’t gone as planned, as he has struggled to turn around their on-field struggles since his arrival.

They currently look set to miss out on Champions League qualification. They are five points off Arsenal in fourth, having played two more games.