One of Erik ten Hag's first remits as Manchester United manager will be almost identical to one of his predecessors. He's here to put the smiles back on people's faces.
That was the reason Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was called in to replace Jose Mourinho in November 2018, a caretaker spell that was supposed to lift the mood over the short-term but ended up being a long-term relationship that took United nowhere. Thankfully Erik ten Hag's coaching credentials are deserving of the United job when Solskjaer's were not, but the 52-year-old Dutchman will inherit a dressing room similar suffering a similar crisis of belief to the situation Solskjaer discovered.
On that occasion, they had been warned down by Mourinho's caustic approach and the battles he was picking around the club. When the Portuguese was sacked and Solskjaer's light-touch management arrived, the improvements were immediate.
