London, May 29 ( IANS): Manchester United have announced on Sunday that former interim manager Ralf Rangnick will not be staying at Old Trafford as a consultant despite his previous agreement with the club.

The 63-year-old German Rangnick too has announced that he will not remain at Manchester United as a consultant due to the demands of his new role as Austria manager.

Rangnick, who was expected to stay at United for a further two years in his new role, confirmed the news in a press conference in Austria on Sunday.

"We would like to thank Ralf Rangnick for his efforts as interim manager over the past six months. By mutual agreement, Ralf will now focus solely on his new role as manager of the Austria national team and will not, therefore, be taking up a consultancy role at Old Trafford," Manchester United said in a statement.

"We would like to wish Ralf the best of luck in this next chapter of his career."

Rangnick was appointed manager of Austria's national team on April 29 but he announced he would still be working at United as a consultant.

Speaking last month, Rangnick said, "I will take over as national team manager of Austria at the end of the season but will continue my consultancy with Manchester United."

Rangnick took charge at the beginning of December and led the team through the remainder of a challenging season, with his spell as interim boss providing United with crucial time to conduct a thorough search for their next manager, resulting in the appointment of Erik ten Hag.

He will now take charge of Austria for their upcoming Nations League fixtures, as they face Croatia, Denmark and France in Group A1. "Once again, we are grateful to Ralf for all his hard work and wish him the best for the future," United said.