Paul Merson has suggested there are deep-rooted issues at Manchester United amid Austria's impressive Euro 2024 campaign.
Despite being in a group with France, Holland and Poland, Ralf Rangnick's Austria defied expectations by not only advancing but also topping the group with six points out of nine. Their cohesive displays in Germany raises questions about why Rangnick couldn't replicate this success during his temporary stint in charge of the Red Devils a couple of years back.
On the Football's Greatest podcast, Merson speculated that internal problems within United's squad undermined Rangnick's efforts and wondered whether current boss Erik ten Hag was facing similar issues.
"If I was Man United I'd be worried," Merson warned. "I'd be looking at [Austria's performances] and thinking that's an inside job, Man United. They blame the managers. People say Ten Hag isn't good enough, Rangnick came in and was a laughing [stock]. [But] look at what he's done at Austria.
"That would worry me if I was a Man United fan. I'd go, 'wait a minute, he wasn't as bad as everyone thought he was. So was it the players' attitude? And is it the players behind the scenes who are mugging these managers off?'"
Rangnick took over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as United's interim manager in December 2021, but his tenure was far from successful, with the club ending the season in sixth place with a mere 58 points, their worst ever tally in the Premier League.
Despite initially agreeing to remain at the club in a consultancy role, Rangnick's disappointing stint led to a mutual decision to abandon this plan. Shortly after, Rangnick was appointed as the head coach of Austria's national team. His record there has been impressive, winning 16 out of 26 games – nearly double the win rate he achieved at United.
Austria are set to face Turkey in the round of 16 on Tuesday. A victory would lead to a quarter-final match against either the Netherlands, who they defeated in the group stage, or Romania.
Should they reach the semi-finals, a potential showdown with England could be on the cards. However, the Three Lions will first have to beat Slovakia and then the winner of the Italy vs Switzerland.
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