At the beginning of the new year Fletcher relayed the message that United — meaning owner Joel Glazer, Richard Arnold and Murtough — did not view January as a good period to do business. Arnold was by now in the process of taking over from Woodward as chief executive and additionally felt it imprudent to sanction tens of millions of pounds to an interim manager when top four, rather than the title, had become the objective.
A strategy meeting early in January led by head of recruitment Steve Brown spelt out United’s approach. Long-term targets were discussed without any decisions being taken, a consistent theme of recent years.
It left Rangnick perplexed at the lack of conviction.