Manchester United ‘lazy’ for only hiring interim manager, Paul Merson claims

United opted to bring in an interim manager while they search for a permanent replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ralf Rangnick is the interim manager at United (Getty Images)

Former England star Paul Merson has labelled Manchester United “lazy” for only hiring an interim manager after they fired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Solskjaer left the club in November and United announced Ralf Rangnick as his replacement for the rest of the season while they looked for a permanent boss. Under Rangnick the Red Devils have only lost one Premier League match but their form hasn’t improved with a change in boss.

Merson, who played for Arsenal and Aston Villa among others, says United should have taken the time to appoint a permanent manager.

“I think Manchester United have been lazy,” he wrote for Sky Sports. “They have taken the easy option in not appointing a full-time manager. This Manchester United. It is the biggest club in the world. Go and do something. Bringing someone in for six months is just lazy.

“Talking about what he did at RB Leipzig or what he did at Schalke, they were two clubs down at the bottom. Of course, Leipzig are the club they are now, but it is not like he’s come in with a record of winning a lorryload of stuff.”

Despite criticising the club for not bringing in full-time staff, Merson added the club should finish the season in the top four to secure Champions League football. United are currently seventh after 19 games but only four points out of the top four.

“They need to get top four,” he added. “They should get top four, but at the moment, it’s not working. They have had good fixtures and they’ve still got some good ones coming up, but it is not like they have been impressive.

“The confidence has completely gone, and I worry for them. They need to sort it out and quick because this was as poor as it gets.”