Fred not a fan of 'strange' management solutions at Old Trafford

Midfielder says it's 'a little bad' players don't know who manager will be next season 

Manchester United's Fred, , celebrates after scoring his side's third goal against Leeds last weekend. Picture:  AP Photo/Jon Super

Fred has expressed concerns about Manchester United’s long-term planning, admitting “it is a bit strange” to be under an interim manager for the rest of the season.

Having parted company with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November, Ralf Rangnick was handed the reins for the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign before he starts a two-year consultancy role with the club.

United are currently in Spain preparing to take on Atletico Madrid in their first Champions League last-16 appearance since 2019, when they were also playing under a caretaker boss.

Solskjaer got the permanent job shortly after that jaw-dropping triumph against Paris St Germain and Fred is surprised the club are back in the same situation.

“It is a bit strange,” he said. “I know in football it’s important to get good results as soon as possible, but it’s also important to have a long-term plan.

“I think it’s a little bit bad for us not to have one, at the moment it’s all about the short-term goals. We don’t know how it’s going to be after the end of this season.”

Fred’s comments come as United face up to the prospect of another trophyless season unless they upset the odds and go all the way in the Champions League.

“Every player that comes to this club wants to win titles,” said Fred, who joined from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 — a year after the club’s last trophy.

“It’s the same with me, Bruno (Fernandes), Alex (Telles), Cristiano (Ronaldo), (Jadon) Sancho, all of us. We want trophies but it’s been a long drought.

“With all due respect to Villarreal, it was our job to win that Europa League final and we failed. It’s about having a better football planning on the club.

“If you don’t want to win titles you don’t deserve to play for Manchester United. We’re still in the Champions League but let’s see if we arrive better on next season to find our peak football.”

Asked if it is crazy to picture United winning this Champions League this year, Fred said: “I don’t think so. I know we’re not playing our best football, but we have a lot of quality names in our squad.

“I see many other teams playing far off from their best as well. (To win it) wouldn’t be crazy, it could happen, but we have to work our socks off because we’re far away from being one of the favourites in this competition.”

A hostile atmosphere awaits the Red Devils in Madrid tonight, when United will be unable to draw on the experience of 35-year-old Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani for a fourth straight game.

“No, Edi will not be able to make the trip,” Rangnick said. “He didn’t train and he has not been training for the last couple of weeks, so he will not be part of the group.

“He has problems with his groin and, as long as he does not feel able to fully sprint, it does not make sense to train him and to force him back into training.

“I think he’s got enough experience to know by himself if he’s fully available again.”

In Cavani’s absence, Rangnick is focused on building a solid foundation in the Spanish capital.

“In the Champions League you need to perform on the highest possible level,” he said. “Of course we had a game on Sunday, a very physical one. Atletico played away at Osasuna on Saturday, so there might be a slight advantage with regard to recovery on their side.

“We obviously made sure that the players could recover in the last two days and maybe we will have some fresh legs on the pitch. We will see.

“We need to play tactically on a high level, physically. Mentally we need to be prepared for a very emotional, if not even hostile, atmosphere in their stadium.

“Some of our players will not be received with a red carpet, obviously.”

Among the players in for an interesting reception are David De Gea, an Atletico academy graduate who left in 2011 and Cristiano Ronaldo.

No player has appeared more in the Champions League than the 37-year-old, who has five winners’ medals to his name and been the scourge of Atletico time and time again down the years.

Bruno Fernandes would not be surprised to see his Portuguese compatriot shine once again, but the playmaker says the stage is set for others to make an impact in the knockout phase.

“Cristiano has won this competition many times,” said Fernandes, who believes United have “more identity as a team” under Rangnick.

“Everyone knows in this kind of competition he has that smell for the goal, he has that smell for doing different things.”