"One of the most important decisions" – Manchester United director opens up on appointing permanent manager

Manchester United's director of football, John Murtough, has explained the decision to bring in Ralf Rangnick as interim manager and the search for the next long-term successor.

Manchester United parted ways with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer earlier this season after a string of bad results in both the Premier League and the Champions League.

The club then brought in German manager Ralf Rangnick in an interim position until the end of the season. They are now in the process of looking for a manager to take over from next season.

Speaking to a fans' forum, Murtough was asked about Manchester United's process of appointing a new manager. He explained:

"Out of respect for Ole, we did not approach other managers before he left. Our plan then was to appoint an experienced interim manager and Ralf was our clear first choice. He's someone I have admired for a long time, and we're delighted he's here.

"By bringing in Ralf, we can now take time to run a thorough process for our next permanent manager. Recruiting a manager is one of the most important decisions a football club makes so we want to do it in a careful and considered fashion."

Ralf Rangnick has steadied the ship significantly since his appointment and is unbeaten in the three matches he's taken over so far.

"We're all disappointed at Ole's departure" - Murtough on Manchester United's appointment of Rangnick following Solskjaer's exit

Rangnick has had a successful beginning to his Manchester United career so far

Murtough also went into detail about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sacking and the process that Manchester United went through to appoint Ralf Rangnick.

He told the fans' forum:

"There were grounds for confidence that we were going to continue building on the progress we saw in the prior two seasons. After the promising early-season results, things went off plan.

"As a club, we felt Ole had earned the right to be given the chance to turn things round, but didn't get a reaction after the international break, and the Watford game made it clear change was needed.

"We're all disappointed at Ole's departure, but he deserves to be judged on his record over the past three years, not his last few weeks. He re-set the club's culture and reshaped the squad, leaving us in a stronger position today than when he returned in 2018."

Manchester United are set to face Newcastle United next in the Premier League on December 27.