Austria players give glowing Ralf Rangnick verdict following Manchester United exit

Ralf Rangnick has been highly praised by members of the Austrian national team after he oversaw his first training session with the international side this week.

The German coach has begun work as the manager of the national side days after his permanent exit from Manchester United was confirmed. Rangnick, 63, was set to take up a two-year consultancy role at Old Trafford following his reign as interim manager, but he will no longer take the position after it was agreed his workload with Austria was too much to continue in both jobs.

He will take charge of his first international match on Friday night when Austria face Croatia in the Nations League, with matches against France and Denmark to follow later this month. Rangnick will be hoping his new set of players quickly buy into his ideas as manager of the national side — and the feedback has been positive based on his early training sessions.

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Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic told Spox: “It was very intense. It was said that the first training session would be like getting in. I’m already excited to see what’s on tomorrow’s training program. The philosophy is to play intensively and offensively.”

His endorsement was backed by Hoffenheim midfielder Christoph Baumgartner, who said: “Most recently he has trained one of the biggest clubs in the world.”

“You noticed right away how professional, structured and clear the idea is – even off the pitch, what works and what doesn’t. It’s very exciting and each and every one of us could see that something positive was coming our way.”

Baumgartner then went on to praise Rangnick for his open and honest approach, something he was notable for