Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has questioned the current set-up and team spirit among the Red Devils squad after they crashed out of the FA Cup in the fourth round to Middlesborough.
The Red Devils suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat to leave any hopes of picking up some silverware this season very slim, to continue the theme of falling short in recent seasons – having gone without any silverware since 2017.
Saha, who scored 42 times for the Red Devils between 2004-08, believes the club have made mistakes in recent seasons while the expectations remain as high as when they were a powerhouse in world football.
Former striker Louis Saha has questioned the set-up inside of the camp at Manchester United
FA Cup defeat to Middlesborough leaves United facing another season without any trophies
‘There is a combination of having the right set-up inside of the camp, the obvious one is the team selection, and the team spirit,’ Saha told the Daily Mail in conjunction with William Hill.
‘You need a good combination of leaders, people who can really assess things inside the field, which is sometimes missing.
‘That is the obvious critique that we all have, especially when we remember what this club was about before and the standard it used to bring.
‘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 (United) should be better. It’s a tough one because it’s such a big club.’
Saha, who played for the club from 2004-08, feels mistakes have been made in recent years
Ralf Rangnick’s authority appears to have been questioned once again following the public falling out with Anthony Martial, as the German spoke out about Jesse Lingard asking for time to clear his head, after a move away from Old Trafford on deadline day fell through.
But the 29-year-old took to Twitter in an open show of defiance and said: ‘The club advised me to have time off due to personal reasons! But my headspace is clear and I’ll always be professional when called upon and give 100 percent.’
Saha added: ‘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.
‘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.
Ralf Rangnick’s authority has come under question after his latest treatment of Jesse Lingard
‘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.
‘Miscommunication is something that we’re seeing at Manchester United at the moment.
‘The camp sometimes brings some real strange situations at times, one is lying, and one is putting the club in a real difficult situation in terms of honesty and values. That is not what Manchester United is about, so it’s sad.’
Despite scrutiny over Rangnick, United still sit fourth in the Premier League.
Saha, however, knows what a tough job he is tasked with, and does feel most of these stories would not be making headlines if they were picking up consistent results.
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Saha refused to put pressure on Rangnick as he understands the tough job he has on his hands
‘I don’t want to make a big fuss about it, like I said so many use Manchester United’s situation to put their names out. It’s not a big deal, I don’t think it’s fair, he’s got a big mission and it’s really tough.
‘Anyone is happy to judge, it’s hard, you have challenges. Some players will not be happy, some agents will use that, so it’s a fairly normal situation. Ralf is not someone with a massive CV with trophies and people take the opportunity to do that.
‘It’s all about results, the media focuses on results, and if he provides that then nobody talks about the stupid things and that’s the frustration.
‘You have to face the reality of the game, if he brings results, then nobody needs to talk as it’s about winning games.’