(Football news) Ralf Rangnick has begun his coaching overhaul at Manchester United by appointing two experienced coaches who have previously worked with him. After Michael Carrick left, Rangnick wanted to bring in coaches that know his playing philosophy and can help instill it in the club by appointing Chris Armas as an assistant coach and Sasha Lense as the sports psychologist to join alongside Kiren Mckenna and Mike Phelan.

Armas was fired by the MLS club Toronto FC in July after less than six months in charge as Toronto suffered a 7-1 defeat to DC United which was the worst loss in the club's history. Armas will look to take the opportunity and prove his calibre at Old Trafford after being recruited in Rangnick's backroom staff. The pair already know each other as they have previously worked together at New York Red Bulls and with the Red Bull program as well. Rangnick was the head of sport and development for Red Bull's clubs and Armas worked as head coach of the New York Red Bulls. As a manager he did enjoy a successful spell at New York Red Bulls, leading New York to the Supporters' Shield in 2018 and the playoffs in 2019. Armas was given his work permit on Monday after initially being denied a UEFA Pro License because of managing in America, but he won his appeal and now Armas will line-up alongside Rangnick in the Manchester United dugout as his assistant manager soon. 

Sascha Lense on the other hand was introduced to the players at United's Carrington training centre on Monday itself. The 46-year-old has previously worked with Rangnick at Schalke and Red Bull Leipzig but will have to wait for clearance on his visa before he can officially be appointed as the sports psychologist of the club and begin applying his well-regarded techniques to United's squad. His first role as a sports psychologist was with Dynamo Dresden in 2014 and then he was approached by Rangnick to work at RB Leipzig from the 2015/16 season. Lense spent three years at Leipzig and was most recently employed in a similar role at Schalke but after their relegation he has been out of a job. The very fact that United are appointing a sports psychologist and letting Rangnick bring his own staff gives us an indication that the club after a long time are making footballing decisions. 

Also read: RB Leipzig sack head Jesse Marsch after a string of poor results in the league

Speaking at his first press conference, Rangnick said: “I am more than happy to work with the current coaching staff because I need their experience and expertise regarding the current squad. I will obviously try to find one, two, maybe three people who can join us in the next one or two weeks but due to the Brexit regulations it is not that easy. Many of my former colleagues, no matter if it is video analysts or assistant coaches, are in long-term contracts with big clubs, so they are not available right now. We have to be a little bit smart and clever and find the right people. I hope that we can get them in here in the next one or two weeks but I cannot tell you any names”.