Ralf Rangnick targets fourth place as Fred returns & psychologist is asked to help Manchester United players

Ralf Rangnick says his main aim for this season is to secure a fourth place finish for Manchester United in the Premier League.

The United interim boss was asked in his press conference on Monday, ahead of the Brighton game on Tuesday night, about his expectations for this season and next.

He said: “Eaxctly what Manchester United need and want is to finish fourth in the league. I think this is the highest possible achievement we can get.

“Yes there is Champions League, hopefully to proceed into the next round of the Champions League, it’s not an easy one...

“Number four (in the Premier League) is our ambition and what we’re aiming at.”

The German added his focus will be on getting the best of this season before he begins to discuss the ‘next steps’ for the 2022/23 season.

Returns confirmed

Rangnick also confirmed in the briefing that Fred will return to the squad after recovering from a bout of Covid and that Alex Telles will also be available.

However, he added Edinson Cavani and Nemanja Matic won’t feature.

Player support

Rangnick was also quizzed about the role of sports psychologist Sascha Lense in supporting players at the club following their poor run of form.

He said: “If you are 1-0 up and in three consecutive games, you concede an equaliser, it affects the minds of the players.

“They are human beings - not robots...

“If you concede early in the second half, this affects the confidence of the players. I spoke with Sascha about that and we speak to the players one by one about why we conceded the goal and what we should do to score a second or a third goal.”