Siddharth Juyal
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag revealed that his peers warned him about taking the managerial role at Old Trafford
Erik ten Hag confessed that people around him cautioned him about taking a managerial role at Manchester United. The Dutchman took over the Red Devils in the summer of 2022 after his successful tenure at Ajax.
United have seen change in the managerial post numerous times after the retirement of their legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Ferguson’s reign lasted for 26 seasons as the Red Devils enjoyed dominance over the domestic competitions during his time.
United have appointed David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, and Ole Gunnar Solskaer in the past decade. Furthermore, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, and Ralf Rangnick acted as the interim manager in the middle of these transitions.
The once stable managerial post at Old Trafford has turned into an unstable one for the managers. However, United have continuously backed Ten Hag so far while giving him more power in players’ recruitment.
Ten Hag told the United We Stand fanzine (h/t the Guardian) that people warned him about taking the United job. He said:
“Everyone was telling me, ‘You can’t succeed in that job’. They said it was impossible. Me? I wanted the challenge. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but it was such a great club with such a great fanbase. People love Manchester United or they are against Manchester United. I like clubs like this. Ajax was like this.”
The Dutchman gained a reputation for his successful stint at Ajax as pundits and football fans raved about his philosophy. The 53-year-old supervised many successful European campaigns for the Dutch club in the Champions League.
During the 2018-19 season, Ten Hag’s team reached the Champions League semi-finals while playing attractive attacking football. The achievement made him the first manager to do that since Van Gaal in 1996-17.
During the 2021-22 season, the 53-year-old successfully guided his team to victories in every group stage game. The feat made Ajax one of the 10 sides to ever win all of their Champions League group stage games.
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United loyalists are hoping that Ten Hag’s reign to last longer than any of his predecessors since Ferguson retired. The Dutchman has proven his ability at Ajax and deserves fans’ patience to repeat that success at Old Trafford.
