Former Premiership striker Demba Ba has revealed that he was offered a chance to join United in a backroom role during Ralf Ragnick’s interim spell as manager.
Ba, a former striker in the Premier League with Newcastle, Chelsea and West Ham, was speaking to the i.
‘When Ralf got appointed he called me, he said to me he wanted me on his staff’ the Sengalise striker said.
Despite Ragnick’s reign starting off well, issues surrounding the German’s interim position started to creep in. The players didn’t seem to take to his methods and there seemed to be a divide between manager and players.
Ba suggested that his potential appointment would have been a middle man between Ragnick and the players.
‘He said (Ragnick): “you know the Premier League, you know the players, you have a background that is close to theirs, you speak English and German and you can be the link between the squad and my staff”,’ Ba explained.
‘For him he saw it as a perfect match and I’d be able to help him, he thought they’d respect me for who I was and what I’d done in the Premier League.’
Unfortunately for Ba he wasn’t able to take on the role due to his work Visa being rejected. However he says that he has no regrets over not getting the opportunity to help his former manager.
Ba did state that his appointment was for six months and so would probably have left at the end of the season once Ragnick stepped aside from his managerial duties.
Interestingly though, there are certain similarities with new United manager Erik ten Hag appointing another ex West Ham striker as a coach in Benni McCarthy.
It’s a bit of a push to think that Ba being involved as a go-between in the United dressing room would have made a difference to Ragnick’s reign at Old Trafford, however it would have certainly added someone who the players may well have related to more.
What was clear though is that Ragnick needed all the help he could get by the end of his tenure as interim boss.
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