Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick reassures fans that he fully trusts the board 24 hours after dropping a bombshell that the board refused to buy a striker in the January window.
Brighton made sure that Manchester United ended the season with their lowest points tally in the Premier League era after smashing the visitors 4-0.
When asked about how much Rangnick trusted the board to buy the right players at the right time, he said: “We have spoken since the last couple of months about what happened since the transfer window’s closure. It was not meant as criticism towards anyone.
“At that time, we had only 48 hours, so nobody knows if that would have been possible. A few things happened that were not foreseeable and predictable.”
A lacklustre United side resembling most of their season’s performances was dismantled by a positive and purposeful Brighton team who put three goals past United in the space of 11 minutes in the second half before adding one in the first half.
Manchester United fans chanted, “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” to the players, to which Bruno Fernandes replied: “I include myself in that. What we did today, what I did today, was not enough to be in a Manchester United shirt, and I accept it.”
Moises Caicedo long said to be on the United transfer wishlist, opened the scoring for the hosts with a shot from outside the box. Marc Cucurella doubled the host’s advantage after firing a shot from six yards beating David De Gea. Pascal Grob grabbed a third with a delightful first touch before clipping the ball in the back of the net. Leandro Trossard piled more misery on the visitors as he soon grabbed the fourth.
At the full-time whistle, Brighton manager Graham Potter said: “This win ranks up there in my career. We have had to suffer a little bit at home. We are happy that we could give our supporters more joyful memories.
“We are delighted at the way we played today, thought a little bit unfortunate to not add to the four we scored. We have had some excellent performances here but haven’t been able to turn the one point into three.”
He also answered speculation about his future. He said: “Journalists put stuff in the paper which is not true. I have never said I want to leave.”
“It was not long back that I was getting a lot of criticism, so things change pretty quickly, let’s not forget that, but I have always had the board’s support.”
Brighton will finish the season with their record number of wins and points in the Premier League whereas defeat for United meant they could no longer achieve the 64 points tally they achieved in the 2013/14 campaign hitting a new low. The result means United can no longer mathematically qualify for a Champions League spot as they sit five points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
