Ralf Rangnick has said Southampton will be a ‘challenge’ for Manchester United as the club prepare to welcome the Saints to Old Trafford this weekend.
United face Southampton tomorrow lunchtime as the Red Devils look to bounce back from a disappointing draw with Burnley in midweek, a result which saw Rangnick’s side drop out of the Champions League places.
The visitors will arrive in confident mood after an away win at Tottenham last time out, whilst the Saints have lost just once in their past seven Premier League fixtures.
Rangnick is expecting a difficult challenge this weekend and has called for ‘top performances’ from his squad for the entire game, after decent starts against both Middlesbrough and Burnley before the performance level dropped in the second halves.
“We are fully aware this will be a difficult one,” he told his pre-match press conference. “I watched the game at Spurs during the week and they really deserved to win; tactically they played at a very high level, this will be a challenge for us.
“I’m sure we’ll be up for it, we’ll prepare the game for tomorrow and we have to win the game. We did well in both first halves against Middlesbrough and Burnley, we need top performances from the whole game.”
Tomorrow’s clash will see Rangnick reunite with Ralph Hasenhuttl, the latter having spent two seasons in charge of RB Leipzig during Rangnick’s reign as director of football.
Rangnick was full of praise for the Austrian’s work at both Leipzig and Southampton as he prepares to go head-to-head with Hasenhuttl at Old Trafford.
“I’ve known him for six or seven years, he has developed in those years, it’s obvious, you can see what he did at Southampton. He did a great job at Leipzig, finishing second first year and sixth in the second; what he’s achieved at Southampton is great, just great.
“He is doing a great job but doesn’t help we need the three points tomorrow and this is what it’s all about.”
