Erik ten Hag has been looking at success in other sports to try and coax the best out of Manchester United.
The Dutchman is always looking for small margins of improvement and it's been revealed he has sought help from the man who masterminded Jonas Vingegaard’s Tour de France triumph last year. The United manager is close friends with Merijn Zeeman, the director of the Dutch cycling team, Jumbo Visma.
Zeeman, who first acquainted himself with Ten Hag at Ajax, has revealed his role in trying to help the United squad. He advised Ten Hag that the group needed more one-to-one contact after bringing him with the team during their World Cup break in Spain.
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Erik recognised that in successful teams in football and cycling, there is a lot of overlap," he said. “I like to look at what he is doing at Manchester United.
“In sport, people often think that if we put a puppet in place it will work. But it starts with a culture, then a structure, then a strategy and then you move on.
“Erik and I recognise this in each other and we think very much alike. We make it clear to everyone about what is our goal and how do we get there.”
He added: “In the winter, I visited Erik for a number of the Manchester United training sessions in Spain. Erik said ‘tell me what you see, give me some feedback.' He is very open to that.
“I must say that our culture in cycling is much more open between athletes and staff. We have a much stronger communication and relationship.
“With the footballers, I found the distance greater - and that was really visible in the hotel. There was much more of a hierarchy.
“So when Erik asked me for feedback, I told him that if he wants to develop players then there has to be much more one-to-one contact.”
