Ralf Rangnick is chatting animatedly and using the car industry as an analogy to illustrate how football clubs so often find themselves veering off course.

“If you think of Porsche, Mercedes or Aston Martin you come across three or four words and phrases with which you would describe these brands — like safe, sporty, innovative or market-leading excellence in technology,” the German coach and sporting director, who has 30 years of experience building clubs, including Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig, says.

“That should be the case with a football club, but that is not the case with most. In England and Germany there are examples that, with every change of head coach, the corporate identity and corporate behaviour changed also. So if you change from one