MANCHESTER UNITED legend Rio Ferdinand has laid out a six-point plan that he feels the club must follow to get back to the top.
Interim manager Ralf Rangnick took his team to Arsenal in desperate need of a result in their quest to secure a top-four finish.
But they were beaten 3-1 by the Gunners in a further blow to their hopes of securing Champions League football.
The Red Devils will finish the campaign trophyless again but confirmed this week that Ajax boss Erik ten Hag will be taking charge during the summer.
Ferdinand, who won six Premier League titles and the Champions League during his 12 years at the club, has revealed what steps he feels need to be made under the new man to succeed.
And speaking to BT Sport before the clash with the Gunners, he discussed his six-point plan for success in more detail.
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SET THE CULTURE
Here is his guide to rebuilding United:
“I’ve mentioned many times about setting the culture. You need areas of discipline, where there are players made accountable on and off the pitch.
“You need consequences. I don’t feel that there is any player that feels if they do something wrong or step out of line or adhere to tactical strategies, there’s a fear factor.
“I don’t feel like that has been there for a while now.”
“We can see the players that have come into this club and how many have improved?
“It comes down to coaching as well, but how many have come in and you think that they are a perfect match?
“I haven’t seen enough of that.”
STRUCTURAL RESET
“I’m confident that work is being done behind the scenes and that the manager will get time.
“There’s a lot of calculated data that has been looked at to enable the person that comes in to go out and do the job.
“He will have a say in the recruitment because you can’t have a club that brings in players and the manager doesn’t know about it.
“That’s a key part of it. Recruitment has let the club down over the past few years.
“Rangnick has been here and played his role. You can look and say that he’s been honest and that’s refreshing to see, but at the same time it’s got to a point where you question whether he is distancing himself from having his finger prints over this period where the amount of wins expected hasn’t materialised.
“When you look at that, you need someone who is speaking on behalf of the club. There’s a lot of work to do.“
CLEAR PLAYING STYLE
“I feel that there needs to be a clear playing style. Coming to a football club and not understanding how a team is going to play is difficult.
“As a manager, you have to get players that you think don’t run around, you have to get them doing that.
“At Man City you have Bernardo Silva, Thiago at Liverpool, both are players that you don’t associate with hard work. But watch them play and they get around the pitch and put pressure on people.”
EMBRACE YOUTH
“The message I believe from above has to be that “you have time” and that they have patience.
“We believe in youth and history at this football club tells you that they play kids – whether in Europe or not.”
DEVELOP PLAYERS
“Sir Alex Ferguson – and I hate going back to it but it’s a fact – that all throughout his years they were in Europe challenging to win things.
“Young players were introduced, so don’t tell me that it can’t happen because it can.
“The manager needs to be given time by the people that run the club.”