Erik ten Hag: I’m the one who restored the glory days for Manchester United | Football news

news7f08/13/2022

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Erik ten Hag will be Manchester United's next manager

Without hesitation, Erik ten Hag said with absolute certainty: “I believe I’ll get the job done – I’ve done it everywhere.”

The new Manchester United manager has responded to a question about how long it will take him to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford and his response is similar to the one Jurgen Klopp gave during the meeting his first newspaper after being appointed as Liverpool manager seven years ago.

On that occasion, the German raised some eyebrows when he predicted: “If I sit here for four years, I’m pretty confident we’ll have a title.”

Klopp, who is taking over from a team languishing in 10th place in the Premier League, has made a mistake, albeit with only 12 months left.

But does Ten Hag – who has won three Eredivisie titles, including two league titles and a national cup in four full seasons as Ajax boss – have enough time at United?

“I can’t ask the fans to be patient – I hope they will – because they want to see a winning team and that’s why I’m here, but I have to produce it,” he said. said as we sat down to discuss his team. start the new season. “But the process takes time, that’s how it is.”

This was five days after United plunged to a 1-2 home defeat to Brighton – the Seagulls’ first win at Old Trafford – to usher in the reign of Ten Hag, albeit fortunately the real Dutchman. shows the “24 hour rule – you celebrate, or moan, then you move on”.

There were many things that still pleased the new man, even in defeat, including his side’s reaction to taking a 2-0 lead in the first half and how they improved the ball in the second half, while the source The root of the goal that gives United hope of a comeback also encourages him.

“The goal that we take, last season, we weren’t good at set-pieces, so we take the target outside of the set matches and that’s really positive,” he said.

However, at the same time, it was clear that there were many things that worried Ten Hag.

“A lot (was wrong with the screen), that’s clear,” he said. “Of course it starts with the results, but also the performance, in many respects we are not good. But that is quite normal even at the beginning of the season when you have to be focused and when you want a way. play. .

“We played pretty well in pre-season, but now you miss two players who are still against a good team and we have to perform better.”

However, Ten Hag insists his new charges are not due to a lack of confidence after a number of years of neglect, but rather personal flaws that cost them dearly against Brighton.

“I haven’t seen it yet, we were confident in pre-season, pressing well and being decisive, but that was clearly not the case in the first half against Brighton, when we clearly made mistakes. and they punished us,” he said.

“You have to be mentally strong at the start of the season because you’re going to make mistakes.”

Ten Hag, 52, will be hoping that last weekend’s bad first half at Old Trafford was just a one-off as he prepares to take his side down to the capital for his first away trip as a manager. how to be the boss of United.

But he is also well aware of the challenge that awaits him and his players in west London on Saturday night against Brentford, who scored three goals against Liverpool and only lost to champions Manchester. City and then European champions Chelsea at home last season.

“They’re a physical, strong, well-organized, direct-playing team, so we’re going to have to play well,” that’s how the United manager viewed it. Saturday night football clash with Brentford, in which Anthony Martial will not feature due to injury, but Cristiano Ronaldo can after the Portuguese striker “improves physically”.

And while we could see a personnel change on Saturday, there could also be a correction in the squad as Ten Hag considers the start of the game as he starts the second half against Brighton, with Christian Eriksen is deployed in a deeper midfield position than the No. 9.

“Christian is a multi-functional player who can impact different areas of the game,” he explains of the versatile Denmark international, who will face his former club next week. this weekend. “So he can play deeper, but also really high and both can make a good impact, that’s what I expect from him.”

However, whatever his line-up or line-up at Gtech Community Stadium, Ten Hag – who hails from Pep Guardiola’s practical training school – expects United to improve as the players take on the challenges. his specific instructions and began to understand exactly how he wanted them to play.

“It takes time to achieve cooperation,” he said, “they know their job, but top sport is a game of speed, we need to make quick decisions and they have to be connection – and that takes time.”

Will bringing in more players before the transfer window closes on September 1 speeds up the assimilation process?

“We definitely need more players to go into the season, it’s clear that we need a stronger squad in midfield and attacking departments,” Ten Hag candidly assesses strength. current team.

“As you saw last week when Martial was sidelined, we didn’t have a good substitute and then we were in trouble,” he added. “So you need that depth when you’re injured and play every three days and the players don’t recover to play the next game.”

Ten Hag, perhaps logically, would not build on what made United a success in his first campaign at the helm, instead casting the much-heard sportsmantra of implementing show each game as it happens: “In the immediate future, we have to win every game and get into the season and go from game to game.”

Looking further ahead, however, the former Ajax head coach acknowledged the magnitude of the task he and the coaching staff faced at Old Trafford.

“It’s a big challenge and we’ve known it before,” he said. “It takes time, but in football you don’t have time and that’s what makes it such a big challenge.

“It was 10 years ago (the last time United won the league) and success came quickly, but getting it back takes a long time and you need a lot of work, a good strategy, the right people and that. is what we’re doing. day after day.”