Ralf Rangnick must address Manchester United question he couldn't answer before

"More than optimistic" was how Ralf Rangnick began an answer to a question on his first day as Manchester United manager, having been asked about the prospect of his new team taking him up against managerial heavyweights such as Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel.

Rangnick had impressed throughout his media dealings on that first day in office and while he struck an upbeat tone it was also one dosed in realism. This was a team struggling for form and confidence.

“I am more than optimistic, but I also have to be realistic," the 63-year-old said. “Five weeks ago, our team lost 5-0 against Liverpool — and it could have been a lot more if we are honest. Against City it was 2-0 — but it could also have been more.

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“It was important to win the point at Chelsea but the performance? I don’t know. They had 24 shots on goal and we had three.

“So right now, to say I will challenge the top Premier League managers in the next few weeks or months, is not realistic.

“Right now my focus is on Crystal Palace and then on Young Boys, then Norwich, then Brighton and then Brentford. The games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City will be in March and April — and that’s when I will answer the question about challenging them.”

Well, now that time is upon us. When Rangnick was answering these questions, the date of March 6TH wouldn't have been circled on his calendar. It was so distant as to be irrelevant at the time.

But football can creep up on you quickly. The Manchester derby was 94 days away when Rangnick started work at Old Trafford. That was 94 days of work, of gradual improvement, of introducing his idea of high pressing to this squad ready to fight fire with fire at the