Conte’s demands ‘would not have suited’ United’s players
Manchester United opted against approaching Antonio Conte for their vacant managerial position after deciding his style of precise ‘micro-coaching’ would not have suited their players, according to the Daily Mail.
Conte was out of work when speculation around Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s future as manager was at its peak, before the Italian eventually joined Tottenham in November.
The Red Devils sacked Solskjaer towards the end of November and replaced him with interim coach Ralf Rangnick, but it is thought that United thought long and hard about Conte – who won the league title with Chelsea in 2017 – before deciding against approaching him.
Sources at United told Sportsmail that Conte is viewed as a great coach by the Old Trafford hierarchy, but that he is someone whose demands on players to carry out exact instructions may have proved unsuited to the United players.
A United source said: “If Conte tells a player to do six things then he wants to see them do all six immediately.
“He wants to be able to programme players to the minute details. We were not sure that was a great fit for us.”
Rangnick has lost just one of his six games as United boss, but the German has struggled to restore harmony at the club and a significant number of first-team players are looking to leave United.
It is believed that there is an acceptance at Old Trafford that the former RB Leipzig manager can only impose a certain amount of authority over United’s players given that they know he will not be their manager next season.
A number of names have been put forward for Solskjaer’s long-term successor, with former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino and Ajax coach Erik Ten Hag thought to be the main candidates for the job.
Conte has enjoyed a successful start to life as Spurs manager, winning seven of this first 12 matches, losing just twice.
He has improved the London outfit since taking charge and has seen his side climb the table into sixth position, just two points behind fourth-placed Arsenal with two games in hand.
Related links:
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