Ten Hag told he is in for Man Utd ‘shock’ unless he learns from Louis van Gaal blunder

Erik ten Hag must adapt as a manager as he ventures into the Premier League for the first time with Manchester United, one journalist has said.

United have picked the Dutchman as the coach to take them into their latest new chapter. Following a dismal season which ended with a sixth-placed finish, the club need big changes on and off the pitch.

The Red Devils’ behind-the-scenes restructuring continued on Tuesday. They appointed Andy O’Boyle as a deputy football director.

On the pitch, though, Ten Hag has ideas of his own as regards player recruitment and tactics.

According to journalist Marcel van der Kraan, though, Ten Hag must look back at how his fellow Dutchman Louis van Gaal’s tenure at Old Trafford failed to really get off the ground.

While the 70-year-old arrived with a solid reputation as a coach, his tactics failed to inspire fans and he got the sack after two seasons. According to Van der Kraan, Ten Hag must not try to be “too Dutch” like Van Gaal.

“I think Ten Hag will have to adapt,” the journalist told talkSPORT. “That’s been my main objection to Dutch managers going to England – you don’t know what the Premier League is about until you get there.

“I think every continental manager who’s never played in England gets a culture shock once he gets there.

“That has been the problem for Louis van Gaal as well. Louis van Gaal’s a great coach, he’s got loads of funny habits and he has a very outspoken Dutch way of dealing with the media.

“He’s a good coach but he wasn’t the right man for Manchester United. He wanted to be too Dutch but you can’t be too Dutch.

“I hope Erik ten Hag has learned from that and he’s seen that and he will adapt easier.”

Ten Hag earned his stripes at Ajax and ended his tenure at the Eredivisie club with a third league title.

Ten Hag must breathe life into Man Utd

While Ten Hag could need to adapt to life at Old Trafford, he must first get a reaction from his players.

Towards the end of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure, the players seemingly stopped fighting for him.

What’s more, they did not take to interim manager Ralf Rangnick’s methods much in his sixth months in charge.

As such, Ten Hag’s first job must be to get his new group of players on-side and playing his way.