Ralf Rangnick has three reasons to justify his 'Jekyll and Hyde' comment about Manchester United

Manchester United will be pleased with their important 2-0 victory over Brighton on Tuesday but it's not one that will linger through history.

Perhaps that's why Ralf Rangnick tried to add some gravitas to the evening with a well-placed reference to a literary classic.,

During a post-match interview with BBC Sport, Rangnick said: “First half was Mr Hyde, second half Dr Jekyll and for a change [the result] was different.

"In the end it was important to get the three points against an in-form team. Brighton are very possession-based, full of confidence and we had to take more risks in the second half. It paid off."

It's become a theme under the Rangnick era that United only seem to play well for a period of 45 minutes. They never have consistency in their performance levels, but there are reasons for the Reds turning most of their games into psychological thrillers.

1. Lack of pre-season time

Everyone knows it's completely different when you don't have pre-season in the bank and it's clear that Rangnick is struggling to get his pressing ideas across because United's players simply don't have the fitness to match it.

Pre-season gives managers opportunities to drill in exercises with the squad and, while the players currently train every day, they're doing so in a congested fixture period. That impacts how quickly you can get ideas across given the vital importance of recovery sessions.

Players like Marcus Rashford, Fred, Harry Maguire and Edinson Cavani have had rough patches throughout the season and competing in international competitions in the summer certainly didn't help anyone.

It's why Rangnick's players look tired. They don't have the stamina to pick up such an intense philosophy midway through a campaign.

2.