Former first-team coach Rene Meulensteen has warned incoming boss Erik ten Hag that the transition from Ajax will present him with a new kind of problem, and suggested he copy Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel’s template in order to find success at Old Trafford.
The 52-year-old Dutchman will replace interim coach in the Old Trafford dugout following the conclusion of the current season, becoming the eighth different manager to take charge of the team since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013.
Ten Hag has won five trophies in five years since becoming Ajax boss, following spells in charge of Utretch, the second team team at , and Go Ahead Eagles in the Dutch second division, in a managerial career which began ten years ago.
Former Fulham manager Meulensteen, though, has warned Ten Hag that the higher level of quality lower down the Premier League makes it markedly different from the Eredivisie.
‘Over at with the style that he plays, it’s expansive, it’s open, it’s attacking,’ Meulensteen explained. ‘If he goes to any team from place 10 downwards, he can turn up with Ajax and basically win 60 to 70 per cent of those games. You would never be able to do that in the Premier League.
‘Any top-four team in the Premier League that goes to a bottom-four team in the Premier League still has to fight very hard for points. He has to hit the ground running.’
Meulensteen was impressed by the transition made by Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, who had never worked in England before moving to Stamford Bridge after his sacking at Paris Saint-Germain, before going onto win the UEFA Champions League within six months of his arrival. The preparation Tuchel had done is something Ten Hag should be mimicking, Meulensteen believes.
‘You can compare that with at ,’ the Australia assistant manager said. ‘He has never worked over here in the Premier League, but he came over here and did his homework. You could see that straight away and his impact was immediate with Chelsea. Erik needs to do that.’
United have been enduring a torrid season, and have not demonstrably improved since Rangnick replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in autumn. They were knocked out of the Champions League by Villarreal last month, beaten by Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, and sit sixth in the Premier League table after being humiliatingly beaten 4-0 by rivals Liverpool at Anfield in midweek.
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