Ralf Rangnick to work just SIX DAYS a month in new Manchester United consultancy role

Ralf Rangnick is set to work just six days a month when he begins a consultancy role at Manchester United this summer.

The interim manager has agreed a two-year stay beyond this season and, although United have been tight-lipped on the details of his next role, Sportsmail has learned that it would constitute 144 days’ work should Rangnick remain at Old Trafford until 2024.

The 63-year-old has not been consulted in the club’s hunt for a permanent boss, with Mauricio Pochettino and Ajax’s Erik ten Hag the frontrunners for the job after talks.

Pochettino has the backing of several former United players but Ten Hag boasts a growing following among the United fanbase.

Sevilla’s Julen Lopetegui and Luis Enrique are viewed as outsiders, with the latter coaching Spain at this year’s World Cup.

Rangnick’s part-time duties at United are likely to depend on which manager is appointed, but there is some mystery surrounding what will be expected of the German, with Darren Fletcher, John Murtough and Matt Judge heading up the various aspects of the club’s football operations.

Rangnick has been forthright about where United need to strengthen if they are to bridge the gap to Manchester City and Liverpool, suggesting last week that a streamlined recruitment process is more important than the next head coach. He believes United have consistently signed players who are too similar.

‘Manchester City and Liverpool have been built together and recruited over five or six years — all of them under the premise of how the coaches want to play,’ Rangnick said.

‘I told the board this is what has to happen. Whenever the new head coach is clear, it has to be: how does he want to play and what kind of players do we need for that?

‘This team does not lack technical players, it can do with more physicality. It takes the right decisions and knowing where you want to go: what kind of players, what kind of manager and then, in every transfer window, try to get the best possible.

‘This is not rocket science. It has to be done and, if that happens, maybe in two or three transfer windows the situation could be different.’