Erik ten Hag has said there are many similarities between his new club Manchester United and previous one Ajax.
The 52-year-old left the Amsterdam club on a high having won the Dutch Eredivisie in his three full seasons, and made his way to the UK last week to begin work for the Red Devils.
With Man Utd’s horrid 2021/22 campaign now over, Ten Hag has officially taken over from Ralf Rangnick as head coach. He sat down with Man Utd’s official channels for his first interview as the club’s boss on Monday.
When asked if there are any similarities between Ajax and Man Utd, Ten Hag replied: “Yes…there is a similarity with opponents being highly motivated [to play them], but also the attacking football.
“We are playing in the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ and have to entertain the opponent. So we want to play in the opponent’s half, we have to do the attacking football. We have to do the pressing, total high pressing. That is a similarity also and the adventurous football and I think, like Ajax, Man Utd bring up and has a history of bringing young talent into the first team.”
Ten Hag added that he is not necessarily the protagonist in trying to improve the quality of football at Old Trafford, insisting it will be a team effort that reflects the club’s core values.
“We don’t have to go over my football. It’s about the Man Utd football and it’s about Man Utd identity and philosophy. I think it has to be about attacking football, so we have to bring structures in the way of play so that we can play attacking football,” he continued.
The Dutchman used to describe his Ajax sides as ‘fighting machines’, and insisted that is a mentality he wants to instil in his Man Utd players.
“Always. Everywhere I was in my career, I have high demands on my players. I expect them to fight and to give 100%…only good is not good enough, not even that. We have to do better and they have to co-operate. They have to be unified, to form a team and to battle the opponent,” Ten Hag concluded.
