Erik ten Hag has managed Go Ahead Eagles, Bayern Munich II, Utrecht and Ajax. That’s not ordinarily a path that leads to the Manchester United job, but it’s hoped Ten Hag is far from an ordinary manager. United need Ten Hag to be more than that.
It was no surprise to see United officially announce Ten Hag as their newest permanent manager on Thursday afternoon. United needed some positive spin after yet another disastrous week at the club. It was also an appropriate time for Ajax.
Although Ajax had been in contention to win two trophies this season, they suffered a 2-1 defeat against rivals PSV in the Dutch Cup last weekend. Ajax are four points clear in the Eredivisie with five games to play and becoming the Netherlands’ champions will have to be their consolation. It will be the third time Ten Hag has won the Eredivisie title with Ajax during his tenure.
ALSO READ: Erik ten Hag's first words after being named new Manchester United manager.
After the Dutch Cup final, both clubs agreed it was an appropriate time to announce the appointment. Ten Hag is set to leave Ajax on a high and he’ll need to bring that good feeling with him to Carrington. Ten Hag will have to put 'smiles back on faces'.
That cliche was used during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's interim spell yet it's true once again. United have equalled their longest trophy drought for 40 years this season. The mood around the club is borderline toxic and supporters' patience is now beginning to wear increasingly thin. Ten Hag has the challenge of preventing the ship from sinking further and that won't be straightforward.
Ten Hag needs financial backing - he also needs time - to have a chance of succeeding. United look set to miss out on Champions League football and a major squad rebuild is required. There can't possibly be enough departures this summer.
United have been frustratingly incohesive all season. There are deep-rooted and systematic problems at the club, but a good coach should be able to mould the squad in their image to a certain extent, regardless of the issues and politics upstairs.
That's the hand Ten Hag has been dealt. Ten Hag is understood to be more 'head coach' than 'manager' and that reputation should ensure his training sessions are engaging and productive. The tone for the matchday is set by the preparation at Carrington and Ten Hag should excel in this area, however, he'll ultimately be judged on whether he can translate that onto the pitch.
Ten Hag will have to compete with Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola to restore United to where they should be. It would be naive to think the Dutchman can single-handedly achieve that in a short space of time but that's the long-term challenge.
Klopp and Guardiola have raised the standards in the Premier League to stratospheric levels. While Liverpool and Manchester City have led the way for some time now, Ten Hag has worked with the latter up close, having followed Guardiola for years. If Ten Hag can achieve half of the success that Guardiola has at the Etihad, he'll be considered a resounding success at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag will be lending on his experience with Guardiola for results with United and the 52-year-old actually opened up on the City boss' influence back in 2019: “I learned a lot from Guardiola. His philosophy is sensational," Ten Hag admitted.
"What he did in Barcelona, Bayern and now with Manchester City, that attacking and attractive style sees him win a lot. It’s this structure that I’ve tried to implement with Ajax. I watch Bayern play every weekend. Bayern have become my club.
"Since Pep, football in Germany is different, I looked at almost every training back then, and I took a lot of methodical lessons on how to transfer his philosophy to the pitch. I want to have possession and hurt the opponent. It’s about possession, about movement, about vertical attacking patterns, about pressing, wingers moving into the middle to make room for the full-backs."
Ten Hag is passionate when discussing tactics and it's clear he's been greatly influenced by Guardiola in his career. Guardiola is widely regarded as the greatest manager currently in football and Ten Hag will no doubt lean on his teachings at United.
Ironically, it seems the Manchester City manager has inadvertently helped Manchester United.
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