Erik Ten Hag was confirmed as Manchester United manager in April. the Dutchman became the seventh manager to be appointed by Manchester United after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.
Manchester United has also not won the Premier League in 9 years as the last time they came close was in 2018 when they finished second behind Manchester City. The Red Devils have also failed to win any major trophy since 2017.
Ten Hag has enjoyed a successful five years with the Dutch champions winning three Eredivisie titles with Ajax and also guarding them to the semi-final of the Champions League in 2018. His style of football and blueprint is seen all over the Ajax team.
The Dutchman takes over Manchester United after the Red Devils endured an embarrassing season finishing six and missing out on the Champions League.
Erik Ten Hag admits that he is expecting a tough challenge at Old Trafford and he will rely on the cooperation and commitment from his squad if they want to close the gap between them and the standard set by Manchester City and Liverpool.
What did Ten Hag say?
In an interview with MUTV, he said: “That is what I expect.
“I have high expectations from myself and that is also what I demand from my squad.
“They have to cooperate together and they have to give every day their best. And I would say, for me, good is not good enough. We have to do better.”
He added: “We are playing in the Theater of Dreams and have to entertain the opponent. We are playing in the opponent’s half and we have to play attacking football.
“We have to do the pressing, the total high-pressing – that is a similarity to Ajax also – and adventurous football.’
The 52 years old is expected to bring major changes to Manchester United and make Manchester United title contenders.
When quizzed what his plans for Manchester United he said: “It’s first: accept the current situation but also know one year ago, this club, this team was second in the Premier League.
“There’s potential and now it’s up to us to get that out. It’s a process, it will take time but I’m convinced we will come to that point where we get success. We have to work hard and it has to be based on the right philosophy and strategy.”
He continued:” First, we have a break.
“We will start pre-season on 27 June and I will get a few of the squad, [a few] of the individual players.
“In certain positions, we want to renew the squad, but as I said, one year ago, this squad was second in the league, so there is potential and I’m really looking forward to cooperating with the squad.”
Erik Ten Hag is expected to have a summer overhaul with the likes of Paul Pogba, Nemanja, Jesse Lingard, and Juan Mata all expected to leave Old Trafford, The Red Devils are expected to replace them and beef up their squad for next season.
