Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Man Utd abolish immediately risky strategy, as Ten Hag gets his way over major decision

Erik ten Hag, PSV v Ajax April 2022

Manchester United have now allowed new manager Erik ten Hag to have Steve McClaren as one of his assistants, according to a report.

United announced the Ajax boss as their new manager on Thursday morning. While the 52-year-old Dutchman will remain in the Eredivisie until the end of the season, he will soon get his first taste of Premier League football.

And he has a big job to do to get Man Utd back to the heights they expect. In fact, interim boss Ralf Rangnick claimed on Tuesday that the Red Devils are “six years” behind title-chasing Liverpool.

Ahead of his arrival, Ten Hag has looked to organise his coaching staff. Indeed, the Dutchman wants McClaren to become one of his two assistants. The pair worked well together at FC Twente in the 2008/09 season.

According to The Telegraph, United initially blocked Ten Hag’s wishes for the current Derby County chief. They asked him instead to look within at the current coaching staff before making his own decisions.

However, an update from the newspaper states that Man Utd have now relented. As such, McClaren is now likely to return to Old Trafford, where he was the assistant manager.

McClaren worked alongside Sir Alex Ferguson and helped to win the treble in 1999. From there, he gained significant Premier League experience and has a mixed record in the top flight.

United’s current coaching staff is a mix of those appointed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Rangnick. Mike Phelan is the assistant manager, with Chris Armas a second assistant. Armas came in alongside Rangnick in November.

Erik Ten Hag wants to get rid of 12 Manchester United players

Erik Ten Hag wants to get rid of 12 Manchester United players

Erik Ten Hag wants to get rid of 12 Manchester United players this summer as he starts his rebuild

The Telegraph reports that Armas will leave in the summer when Rangnick moves into his Man Utd consultancy role.

United chief Matt Judge has handled negotiations over Ten Hag’s coaching staff and has backed down.

The Red Devils have faced calls from pundits to give Ten Hag everything he needs to try to turn the club around.

Ten Hag wants Van der Gaag

Erik ten Hag, Ajax boss in Dutch cup final loss to PSV Eindhoven

As well as McClaren, Ten Hag has his eye on Mitchell van der Gaag to become his second assistant.

The 50-year-old is Ten Hag‘s assistant at Ajax. The pair came together last summer and are aiming for a third Eredivisie title of Ten Hag’s managerial career.

Before Ajax, Van der Gaag built up significant experience in Dutch football.

Should Ten Hag get his way with both his assistants, he will start life at United with no ill feeling.