“It didn’t feel like we all played together.”

The current situation at Manchester United cannot be summed up more appropriately, like defensive star Luke Shaw (26) declared after the 0-1 home defeat of his “Red Devils” against Wolverhampton Wanderers. ManUnited is bobbing around in the midfield of the Premier League, already 22 Points behind league leaders Manchester City.

In short: you are lagging far behind your own expectations.

Ex United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjær had to vacate his post after a disgraceful 4-1 at Watford at the end of November. Ralf Rangnick took over for him, as he delivered immediately, got three wins and one draw. But the Watford debacle relentlessly exposed the deep problem at ManUnited: the team is deeply divided!

Rangnick must have recognized this problem immediately. His first act after taking post: he hired a sports psychologist.

According to a report by the English “Mirror”, there is a group of players in the squad who are said to be very unsatisfied with their situation. That should have led to the bad mood in the team – more than that, the team is said to be divided in two groups. On the one hand: the stars who always play. On the other hand: the players who rarely or never get a place in the starting lineup.

According to the report the unsatisfied players are: Anthony Martial, Edinson Cavani, Donny van de Beek, Dean Henderson, Juan Mata , Eric Bailly and Jesse Lingard.

Rangnick seems to not be in the line and must do it differently. The “football professor” speaks a clear language with his players. However, he also relies on the old permanent staff. Martial, Cavani, van de Beek and co. are also not used under him. Many of the substitutes therefore want to leave the club – preferably immediately.

According to “Mirror”, eleven players want to leave immediately. That should also be due to Rangnick. Many players are said to be overwhelmed by his coaching. In addition, they should not like his tactics.

But: there is hardly any interest in them. Or Rangnick just won’t let them go. Most recently, he gave striker Cavani a transfer ban. “He knows I won’t let him go. For me he’s a very important player for the rest of the season, ”said the ManUnited coach of the Uruguayan.

That creates even more frustration. According to the “Daily Mail”, the mood in the cabin is now “depressingly bad”. Half of the squad are said to be unsatisfied. Cliques are said to have formed. “A divided bunch,” writes the Daily Mail. “It is not good. The atmosphere is really bad and it looks like United will face big problems, as an internal source reported.

Can Rangnick build a competitive team from this group again? He seems to be facing an almost impossible task.