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Ralf Rangnick has been tipped to transform Manchester United in the same way Gerard Houllier did with Liverpool, after being compared to predecessors Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Rangnick is currently serving as Man Utd’s interim manager until the end of the season. He replaced club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the hotseat after an inconsistent start to the season. The German will be in charge of first-team matters before taking on a consultancy role thereafter.

In the immediate future, his task is to revive their fortunes on the pitch. He has made a decent if unspectacular start, overseeing wins against Crystal Palace and Norwich City either side of a draw with Young Boys in a dead-rubber Champions League clash.

The appointment of Rangnick drew a mixed reception from pundits. But one man who can see why he thinks United went for him is former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler.

According to Fowler, United currently find themselves in a very similar situation to the one he was involved with when Houllier replaced Roy Evans at Anfield in 1998.

Explaining the comparison, Fowler told the Daily Mirror: “Why didn’t we win anything? I’d say it came to balance… or a lack of it. We couldn’t quite find a consistency between attack and defence.

“I think United have the same problem, and I think they reacted just as Liverpool did back in the 90s when they brought in Gerard Houllier.

“There was always this stigma – unfairly – that he [Evans] was somehow ‘too nice’. I don’t even know what that is supposed to mean, but you get the impression the United board felt the same about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

“Again, I don’t know if that’s correct. But I think you can see that like my Liverpool team, there isn’t the consistency, or direction, or balance. They don’t get it right in all areas at the same time.

“Liverpool responded by bringing in Houllier. He brought in a school master approach, supposedly tougher and more disciplined.

“You get the impression Rangnick is like that too, and yes, it could work. But I do believe that to be successful in management these days, you have to be more collaborative, understand your players better.

“Maybe that’s why Mourinho didn’t work at Old Trafford, maybe that is why they went down the route of Solskjaer. Now it seems they thought he was too soft. I guess the hope is that Rangnick is somewhere in between.”

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Rangnick told how to get permanent job

There were some claims after the original announcement that Rangnick could even end up keeping the manager’s job on a permanent basis.

It appears an unlikely scenario and the club are looking at a list of potential successors. But Fowler thinks he could have a chance if he solves one issue that Liverpool never did under Houllier.

The ex-forward said: “We were brought up on the old Liverpool philosophy of ‘don’t worry about your opponents, let them worry about you’, but that is history now.

“You have to know the opposition, prepare for everything they might bring.

“Rangnick looks to be that manager, but to get the job permanently he has to solve a problem even Gerard Houllier didn’t, despite the trophies he won at Liverpool. Find consistent balance in the team.”

The 63-year-old has six months to try and find that formula. It will either be for his own benefit or that of the entire club and whoever succeeds him.

READ MORE: Rangnick names Man Utd January transfer criteria as major financial factor comes to light

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