Ralf Rangnick may have unearthed useful information for Erik ten Hag despite the fact Manchester United slumped to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League.
The former interim manager has left Old Trafford - rather than take on a consultancy role - and Ten Hag, his permanent replacement, intends to "renew" the squad he has left behind. Rangnick, 63, was in charge for almost seven months and won just 11 of 29 games in all competitions.
Nonetheless, Neville's comments from towards the end of the season suggest his interim stint may yet prove useful even if results did not improve after he replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the technical area. The Red Devils legend spoke of how Rangnick's "information gathering" mission would help his successor, especially given his background as a sporting director.
Speaking in March, Neville told Sky Sports : "For Ralf Rangnick, he's got a two year consultancy. He's going to pick the next manager, would you not think that he's going to pass information of how you've been with him? I would have thought, to be fair, that the chief scout, sporting director, new manager coming in would pick the players, but you imagine that what he's doing at this time is information gathering.
"He's coming here with a five, six-month contract with a view to consulting for the club in the next two years on reconstructing the club in terms of appointing a new manager, he's going to pass on the information. In the last five, six years he's been working in that type of role [backroom], he's not been a coach."
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While Rangnick and United agreed by mutual consent that he would not stay on with the club in a part-time consultancy role, it appears he has already shared what he knows about the squad with Ten Hag. The former RB Leipzig manager is understood to have held a two-hour-long phone call with the Dutchman during which they spoke at length about the players he has worked with for the last half-year.
During this sizeable conversation, Rangnick may have had the chance to voice his genuine opinion on United's underachieving stars. He began to speak more freely in press conferences towards the end of his reign but Neville still suspected he was holding back.
"I think we've seen a couple of interviews with Ralf Rangnick. He's ready to go," Neville said on Sky Sports after April's 4-0 defeat by Liverpool. "It's only his class and professionalism stopping him telling us what he really thinks of these players."
