Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick dubbed 'the worst manager' in top-four race

Martin Keown has given a scathing review of Ralf Rangnick, insisting Manchester United will miss out on the top four because of his leadership.

United’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League are all but over after their 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday. Goals from Nuno Tavares and Granit Xhaka either side of Bukayo Saka’s first-half penalty sentenced United to their second loss of the week, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring what turned out to be a consolation.

With just four games remaining in the season, United now find themselves six points off the top four, while both Arsenal and Tottenham hold a game in hand over them. They also face a battle just to hold on to a place in Europe for next season, with West Ham and Wolves breathing down their necks.

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The final four games will also be Rangnick’s final matches in charge, with the German handing the reins over to Erik ten Hag at the end of the season. The decision to hire the former RB Leipzig boss as interim manager has been singled out by Keown as the reason why United will miss out on the Champions League next season.

“We look at those fixtures, but it may come down to who has the best manager,” Keown told BT Sport while looking at the race for fourth. “Manchester United have arguably the worst manager and I don’t want to be critical, but maybe that is what it comes down to.

“You have to look at everyone in that boat, and at the moment Manchester United are sinking. [Mikel] Arteta is a young and upcoming manager up against [Antonio] Conte, so who knows. It is tried and trusted with this young Arsenal team but I reckon it will go down to the north London derby