Erik ten Hag has already discovered a three-point plan for how to turnaround Manchester United 's fortunes from incoming assistant boss Steve McClaren.
The Dutchman officially took over as the Red Devils' new permanent manager on Monday. He faces a huge challenge ahead of him following a dreadful campaign that saw United limp to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League.
Helping him in his bid to restore United to their former place at the top of English football will be McClaren. The duo met at Dutch side FC Twente, who McClaren led to the Eredivisie title in 2010, with Ten Hag his assistant.
Now the roles have reversed, with McClaren returning to a job he also fulfilled under Sir Alex Ferguson. His first period at Old Trafford saw United win the treble in his first season and two more Premier League titles before he left for Middlesbrough in 2001.
Ten Hag only needs to look three years into the past for McClaren's first piece of advice for his new reign. The Englishman was reminiscing on United's historic treble win of 1999 when he revealed the secrets behind their success that year.
" Manchester United is built on history, tradition and celebration of momentous occasions. That’s what makes United great – they talk about now and the future but never forget the past,” McClaren said in 2019.
HAVE YOUR SAY! What should be Erik ten Hag's top priority at Manchester United? Comment below.
”You’re always looking for the edge. I think the edge was just what the gaffer brought together in that dressing room in terms of the characters. When you looked around, there were so many leaders in there.
"So many people who could take a game by the scruff of the neck and win games. I think that was the highlight of me going into that kind of environment, with that kind of culture, fierceness, toughness and brutality of those players and their will to win."
Ten Hag has already made it clear that he will accept no excuses in his mission to turnaround United. The Dutchman is already targeting a return to the Champions League, having seen the Red Devils miss out on the top four by 13 points this past season.
“I said this is the project, to bring Man United back on top, but also we have to accept the current situation we are in. First of all, Man United belong in the Champions League, so that will be the first target,” he told MUTV.
“We want to win every game and that has to be the attitude from everyone: players, but also staff and all the other ones in the club. Every game is important and we will give our best in every game to win and to come forward.
"A year before this team was second in the league, so the potential is there. Learn the lessons from this season, we have to analyse clearly what went wrong. But from then on work hard, get a team and fight the opponents.”
