Erik ten Hag's appointment has reportedly been met with an underwhelming response from Manchester United 's dressing room.
The Dutchman was confirmed as the next Old Trafford boss on Thursday as he signed a three-year deal, with an option of fourth, leaving Ajax at the end of the season. Ten Hag plans to bring his own coaching staff with him as Mitchell Van der Gaag is set to join as his no.2 despite Ajax's best efforts to keep him in Amsterdam by offering him the chance to be Ten Hag's successor.
The 52-year-old is poised to bring former England boss Steve McLaren as well, but Wayne Rooney will be staying at Derby County after turning down the chance to seal a dream return to Old Trafford. Ten Hag and his team have a monumental task on their hands to turn the club's fortunes around with problems persisting on and off the field.
There has been disharmony in the dressing room dating back to the start of the season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with several players not committed to the United cause and looking for a move away from the club. And it's clear not much has changed since then - even after the Norwegian's dismissal and Ralf Rangnick taking over on an interim basis - based on their reaction to Ten Hag's appointment.
The Guardian claims the Dutchman's arrival has had a mixed reception from the United squad, with some players 'ambivalent and others underwhelmed.' The Mirror exclusively revealed during United's search for a new manager that Mauricio Pochettino was the dressing room's choice to take over from Rangnick, but it's difficult to understand why Ten Hag has been viewed with such negativity.
The Ajax boss is a proven winner and is renowned for playing attractive football and developing players, something the squad should be crying out for given the season they're having. The fact his appointment has not been met with wholehearted positivity sums up the mammoth task at hand for Ten Hag as the dressing room is clearly beyond repair.
This backs up United's plans for a major clear-out with as many as 12 players ready to depart the club in the upcoming window. Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata and Lee Grant are all set to leave as free agents while at least six other players including Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Alex Telles, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford could join them. This would allow Ten Hag to begin his overhaul with Ralf Rangnick suggesting there will be as many as ten new arrivals
Ten Hag will have a £200million budget to operate with this summer with Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Darwin Nunez, Ruben Neves, Jurrien Timber and Antony among his targets.
