EnglishIn an interview with British newspaper The Times, coach Erik Ten Hag talked about his obsession with work, the challenges at Man Utd, and his desire to create a legacy with the "Red Devils".
Ten Hag admits to being obsessed with work, results. Therefore, he was outraged when Man Utd conceded all four goals in the first half of the 0-4 defeat to Brentford earlier in the season. The next day, he interrupted the team's permission, asking the players to run nearly 14,5 km, the same distance that Brentford ran more than them in the big loss.
Even Ten Hag put on his shoes and ran with the team that day, because he believed that the coach needed to be with the players, in both victory and defeat. "I hate managers who tell players he's won and blame the team when they lose," he said. For me, win or lose, it's all about each other. When you have self-respect, you can't lose like Man Utd lost to Brentford. I accept losing, especially when I first took over the team, but not in such a cowardly way. We were well paid and had more expectations, so that failure was inexcusable.”
Ten Hag always demands the highest of himself as well as the players when working at Man Utd. Image: Reuters
The next match, Man Utd players ran up to 16 km more than when losing to Brenford, and it was rewarded with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool. Since then, the season has had many ups and downs with the "Red Devils", but in the end, they still achieved the set goals. Man Utd ranked third in the Premier League, has a ticket to return to the Champions League, has pocketed the League Cup and still has the opportunity to win another FA Cup when playing in the final against Man City today.
With Ten Hag, football is not just a sport, it's also a game of survival. He used the fact that Bayern won the Bundesliga in the last few minutes of the season as an example. “Why do they always win? Because Bayern believes in winning. They are an inert team, facing challenges and fighting to the end,” said Ten Hag.
One of Ten Hag's most important tasks when he arrived at Old Trafford was to bring back the will to win and revive a squad that played below expectations. “After Sir Alex Ferguson retired, the team culture changed. One of the most important qualities under Sir Alex is setting high standards with everything. I want to rebuild that culture, so that everyone in the club has the highest possible standards," said the Dutch coach, admitting that he understands the challenge that awaits at Man Utd.
Ten Hag revealed or talked to Sir Alex for advice, and admitted to learning a lot from the legendary Man Utd coach. He said: “Like Sir Alex, the feeling of victory quickly faded in me, but the bitter aftertaste of defeat lingered. If you want to be a champion, you need to feel the pang of failure. You are not allowed to lose. If you fail, you will question everything around you. After every night game, I always have a hard time sleeping. I started thinking about the next day, about the next game, about the preparation, the do's and don'ts to tell the team."
One of Ten Hag's most appreciated jobs is handling the issue of Cristiano Ronaldo's name. When asked if Ronaldo's departure would make the team more focused on the pitch and less like a circus, Ten Hag replied: "It depends on your point of view. Personally, I want to see a dynamic, determined team and Man Utd have shown it many times this season. But we are still not satisfied. There is still a long way to go, but we are clearly showing the right spirit.”
Ten Hag instructs Ronaldo and the players in the 1-3 loss to Aston Villa, the last match the Portuguese striker wore for Man Utd. Image: Reuters
Under Ten Hag, Marcus Rashford played his best a few years back. He scored only five goals last season, but exploded with 30 this season. Ten Hag highly appreciates his students: “Marcus is a good player, with excellent finishing skills. Initially, I created an environment where he could play well. Next, I encouraged and built the playstyle that facilitated Marcus. Finally, prepare physically."
According to the Man Utd coach, Rashford can play in the middle and on both wings, can score anywhere, but is most comfortable when playing in the center or starting from the left.
However, Ten Hag still needs someone to split the fire in attack with Rashford when Anthony Martial is too sensitive to injury. He declined to share about the possibility of Mason Greenwood's return after the penalty, as well as the possibility of recruiting Harry Kane by equivocating: "We need another man with the ability to score, and either he will appear from the team, or we will have to look in the transfer market."
The goalkeeper is also a position Man Utd need to add this summer, when David De Gea made many serious mistakes last season and was widely criticized for not participating in building play from the back like many other modern goalkeepers. Ten Hag insists De Gea will remain, but has not committed to giving him a permanent position. He said: “In a Man Utd, there has to be competition on every position. The team played 62 games in total this season and you can't do that with just 11 players. It's unthinkable, you need at least two people in each position."
So, Ten Hag emphasized that Man Utd must be active on the transfer floor this summer. “Last summer, we spent quite a bit. But in the winter, we only borrowed Wout Weghorst, Marcel Sabitzer and Jack Butland, as opposed to other teams. If you want to be competitive at this tournament, you need to invest. I need new signings,” he said.
Man Utd's opponents in today's FA Cup final are the clearest example of squad depth, with world-class players ready to come on. Man City is naturally highly rated, but Ten Hag believes Man Utd has a lot of motivation to beat its neighbour.
Ten Hag called on fans to energize Man Utd in the FA Cup final, after the victory over Fulham at Old Trafford in round 38 of the Premier League on May 28.
“I have watched a lot of FA Cup finals, and have been looking forward to this occasion for a long time. Naturally, the fans will be happy if we stop Man City from winning the treble. But the important thing is not to prevent Man City from treble, but for Man Utd to win the FA Cup. We want to build our own legacy and our own era.”
Thinh Joey (follow The Times)
