Rangnick says he told United players to show more conviction at half time

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Manchester United are still searching for a complete 90 minute performance under interim manager Ralf Rangnick.

Not long ago, United went through a phase of dominating the first half of matches but failing to put teams away before allowing them back into proceedings in the second half.

Against Atletico Madrid last night, United were not at the races at all in the opening 45 minutes, and only really improved around the hour mark.

At his post-match press conference, Rangnick was asked what he said to his players at half-time to bring about the eventual improvement.

“I told them that this is just not enough. We need to show more energy,” said Rangnick.

“We don’t need to speak about gameplans or any tactical moves or tricks. It’s all about conviction and being present on the pitch.

“Believe in what you’re doing, no matter if they have the ball or we are in possession. This is what I told them.

“This is just not enough; it’s Champions League. The team fought the whole season last season to be in the Champions League and now we are in the knockout phase, you have to show and commit yourself to the demands of that moment.

“We did it after 60 minutes and in the last 20 minutes we played exactly as I expected from the start.”

Rangnick’s words did not have an immediate impact, as United did not fly out of the blocks in the second half either.

It was more when Rangnick started to make changes that improvements started to come. It also helped that Atletico sat back and allowed United to play their way back into it.

The key thing is that United remain in the tie ahead of welcoming Atletico to a raucous Old Trafford next month and Rangnick will hope for a faster start in that one.