LIVERPOOL (AFP) - Ralf Rangnick on Friday (April 8) labelled Erik ten Hag as a "top manager" amid mounting reports the Ajax Amsterdam boss is Manchester United's top choice to take charge from next season.

United have reportedly held talks with ten Hag and the Dutch club to secure his release.

Rangnick refused to directly address the reports that ten Hag will be the Old Trafford team's next manager, but United's interim boss said the candidates interviewed were of a high quality.

"This press conference is for tomorrow's game. I don't tend to speak about any new possible manager," Rangnick told reporters on Friday.

"What I know about all the managers the club has spoken to so far, they are top managers, top coaches, and if this includes Erik ten Hag it is also true of him.

"That's all I can say about that at this stage. For me, it's about preparing for tomorrow's game."

Rangnick's own future at United has been a topic of conversation this week.

The Austrian Football Association denied reports they had met with the German to discuss their managerial vacancy after Franco Foda stepped down in the wake of their failure to qualify for the World Cup.

Rangnick has a two-year contract to remain as a consultant at United beyond this season and he said any discussions about what is next for him can wait.

"As you know I have agreed a contract as an adviser. We will speak about that in the next couple of weeks and at the end of the season. Right now my full focus is on tomorrow," he said ahead of United's English Premier League clash with Everton on Saturday.

With their bid to qualify for the Champions League on the line, United face an Everton team fighting for survival at Goodison Park in what is sure to be an intense occasion.

The commitment of several United players has been repeatedly questioned this season as they struggle to keep up with Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in the top-four race.

United have won only three of their last eight Premier League games and Rangnick admitted they have fallen short of the required levels.

"We have that quite often but not consistently. We trained very aggressively in the last couple of days and now it is up to us to play as we trained," he said.

"It will be a question of who is more competitive tomorrow, who is more aggressive, who is winning the second balls.

"They are playing in a very direct way. I watched their game at Burnley and it was one of those games where there was only the lowest amount of time where the ball was in play."

United forward Cristiano Ronaldo will return for the clash with Everton after overcoming illness, but defender Luke Shaw will be unavailable for up to three weeks, Rangnick added on Friday. 

Ronaldo, United’s top scorer this season with 12 league goals, will be back after missing their 1-1 draw with Leicester City last weekend while Shaw is set for a spell out due to follow-up treatment for a broken leg sustained in 2015.

“Cristiano is back again,” Rangnick said. 

“Luke is still injured, we had to take him off at half-time (against Leicester), he’s had his problems with his leg where he had the operation in 2015. The doctor told me they decided to remove two metal bolts in his leg and this will happen tomorrow and he will be out for the next two or three weeks. 

“Edinson Cavani is still injured, Raphael Varane is injured and will miss out again tomorrow and the same is true for Scott McTominay, he’s having problems with the sole of his foot.”

Meanwhile, Everton manager Frank Lampard brushed aside reports that he could be sacked as his troubled side battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Lampard has taken just six points from nine league games since he replaced Rafael Benitez at Goodison Park.

Everton are languishing one point above the relegation zone after a 3-2 defeat at fellow strugglers Burnley on Wednesday.

With only nine games left to avoid slipping into the second tier for the first time since 1954, there is growing sense of panic engulfing Everton, sparking reports Lampard could be facing the axe after less than half a season in charge.

"I know the rules. For me, in my relatively short managerial career I spent 18 months at Chelsea where I was probably two games from the sack," Lampard told reporters on Friday.

"Maybe that's a symptom of football in the Premier League. That's pressure, that's fine, you sign up for that. I have no problem with that in terms of speculation.

"We are a huge club, people want to talk about it. I don't waste my time, I just do my job."

Everton were in 16th place and four points above the relegation zone when former Chelsea boss Lampard arrived in January.

Having seen their side blow a 2-1 half-time lead against Burnley, Everton fans are beginning to express unhappiness with Lampard.

The former England midfielder urged them not to get caught up in relegation "hysteria" but conceded their passion would add to the pressure on his team.

"If I'm honest, it's not easy when four questions you ask me are about my job and if we are getting relegated," he said.

"The fans have a passion, they live and breathe this club. I'm here for five minutes in football terms and I live and breathe the club and I want us to stay in the league.

"I have to handle that because I have to do my job and I can't tell the fans how to be, I can only ask them to turn up tomorrow and be absolutely behind us, as they have done since I've been here.

"Results are the turning point of things. If we win on Wednesday, it's a seven-point buffer to Burnley, six points to Watford with a game in hand. If you don't it, flips in the other direction. If we get caught up in that hysteria, we are caught up in it. We have a job to do on Saturday."