Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, of Manchester United, is confident in the success of interim German coach Ralf Rangnick with the club competing in the Premier League, but believes the coach needs time to instill his ideas and develop the team. Rangnick took charge until the end of the current season after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in November following a series of poor results, and media have questioned player discontent with the 63-year-old's coaching style.
Ronaldo stated in an interview with Sky Sports, "Since his arrival, he has changed many things. But he needs time to instill his ideas. I see him doing a good job; we know we are not performing well, but we have many matches to improve." The international Portuguese added, "I believe the team has improved in some areas since he arrived... It is not easy to change players' mentality, playing style, culture, and system easily," according to Reuters.
Manchester United suffered their first defeat under Rangnick last week, losing 1-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers and the team currently sits seventh in the league with 31 points at the halfway point of the season. Ronaldo remarked, "I do not accept that our mentality is lower than the top three positions in the league... I believe that to build good things, you need to tear down some things. So why not, a new year, a new beginning, and I hope United reaches the level the fans want; they deserve that."
He added, "We are capable of changing now, I know the style but I won't mention it here because it is not ethical to say that. What I can say is that we can all do better... I am here to try to win and compete for titles." United will play against Aston Villa, who are currently in 14th place, on Saturday.
