Ralf Rangnick says stabilising the Manchester United defence was his priority as interim manager.
United recorded their first clean sheet at Old Trafford in the Premier League since March with their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday, having previously kept just three clean sheets in the current campaign.
Thomas Tuchel, a former pupil of Rangnick’s, oversaw 19 clean sheets from his first 30 games as manager of Chelsea en route to lifting their second European Cup triumph in May, and Chelsea have the joint-best defensive record in the league this term.
Rangnick was encouraged by how the United players responded to his demands after a truncated training session prior to the victory against Palace but stressed there was plenty to improve on.
“For me, success can only be achieved with development,” Rangnick said. “Regarding the team, this is the result of development and if we can develop the team in the next six months in a way that I can see them play – and I think quite a few things could already be seen last Sunday – knowing it was only one game, the first game, but it showed…