Manchester United Jaap Stam has outlined an issue with Erik ten Hag’s appointment at Old Trafford.
United confirmed the appointment on Thursday of Ajax boss Ten Hag as their new permanent manager from the end of the current campaign. Ten Hag, 52, met with United bosses last month to talk about becoming their new manager on a permanent basis and has now penned a contract until June 2025 with an option of a further year. Mitchell Van der Gaag, Ten Hag’s long-term Ajax assistant, is poised to join him in the United alongside Steve McClaren.
Those moves in the dugout are the commencement of sweeping changes at Old Trafford over the next few months, with a mass overhaul of the club’s playing squad expected. Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic, Edinson Cavani and Juan Mata are all out-of-contract while many others are likely to be moved on.
Former United defender Stam – who is familiar with his compatriot due to his successes in the Eredivisie – believes Ten Hag has what it takes to be successful at Old Trafford but has identified an issue that may make it tough for him in his role.
Stam has explained, when asked if Ten Hag could replicate his successes in Amsterdam at United: “To do the same in the Premier League, you need to spend money and bring in players of a certain ability to fit his philosophy and his way of playing. He is probably going to try and do the same thing in England, but the opposition against you will be of a much higher quality and difficult to be as dominant as Ajax have been in Holland.
"It is going to take time to do this. It is always the issue for a coach whether or not you will get that time. If you are one of the biggest clubs in the world, then you need to compete every season for trophies. That is how I see Manchester United."
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Stam continued: "You do not have time to build and then have a very bad season with an eye on the long-term – you always need to be competing in the Premier League and FA Cup and to do well in the Champions League. You need to find that balance to use players he has now that he is keen on from a coaching point of view, then to add in players who can implement your playing style to get results."
Ten Hag will succeed interim coach Ralf Rangnick in the Old Trafford hotseat and will become the club’s fifth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, following on from David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
