Ralf Rangnick insists Jesse Lingard 's reaction to Saturday's defeat at Arsenal was "normal" after the playmaker labelled the Manchester United dressing room a "disaster".
The damaging 3-1 loss all but ended United's hopes of finishing in the top four of the Premier League and worsens the already-sour mood created by Tuesday's heavy 4-0 drubbing by Liverpool. Morale among Red Devils players appears to have reached a new low, with Bruno Fernandes ' penalty miss at the Emirates summing up a calamitous season.
Lingard - who was introduced as a substitute in the second half - did not mince his words after the full-time whistle blew in North London. Paul Scholes claims the England international privately told him the United dressing room is "just a disaster" and shared this while on punditry duties for the match.
"I had a quick chat with Jesse there," the Old Trafford legend told DAZN Canada. "I'm sure he won't mind me saying, the dressing room is just a disaster." Rangnick was quizzed on Scholes' comments in his own post-match interview and was eager to play down the significance of Lingard's alarming revelation.
"I don't know, you have to ask Jesse Lingard," Rangnick said. "Obviously, after games like today, there is massive disappointment in the locker room. This is for me normal." Asked whether it is difficult to drum up enthusiasm among his players, the United interim manager added: "Yes, obviously... it's not motivate, it's keeping the energy up."
Although Rangnick was understandably despondent following another defeat in the league, he insisted his side's display against Arsenal was better than their showing at Anfield. "Today was better than Tuesday, an improved performance. We should have scored more goals than we did," he told BBC Match of the Day.
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"We bounced back from a poor start and had numerous chances. He hit the crossbar and the post twice. We had enough chances to get a better result. The one thing we didn’t do well was defending in and around our own box. This has been an issue all season. We should have defended better. The third goal was a clear offside and I do not understand why VAR did not intervene.
"But in possession we created enough chances to get two or even three goals. They [the players] are very disappointed and frustrated. Had we converted the penalty it would have changed the whole game, but we didn't" The Red Devils will hope to bounce back as they host Chelsea on Thursday.
