Manchester United officials weren’t blown away by the interview of Erik ten Hag recently - and the Dutchman did not learn his lesson from his Tottenham meeting last year.
The Red Devils have taken a slow and steady approach in their attempt to find a new manager. Appointing Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked gave the club the chance to weigh up their options and monitor the progress of their candidates, but crunch time is quickly approaching
Ajax boss Ten Hag and Paris Saint-Germain’s Mauricio Pochettino are widely reported as the two leading candidates for the job, although it emerged on Wednesday evening that the Dutchman is now on the brink of landing the Old Trafford job.
However The Independent reports that Ten Hag failed to impress in his interview and it was his lack of charisma that left some of the higher powers at the club unconvinced. It was that very reason that Spurs didn’t settle for the 52-year-old last season and instead chose Nuno Espirito Santo, says the Daily Mail.
During his interview in North London, the club were concerned by Ten Hag’s weak standard of English and also confused by his ‘odd request’ to only bring one member of his backroom staff with him – Sjors Ultee. Usually, a manager will bring an entire group to the club like Antonio Conte did when he became manager, bringing six members of staff to the club.
With Ten Hag’s interview in mind and the fact that he failed to impress at a direct rival previously, will United start to question their leading candidate to succeed Ralf Rangnick? During his time in Manchester, the former centre-back expressed his concerns with the current Red Devils squad and their lack of fitness.
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He spoke of how the current crop of players at the club aren’t in the right physical condition to be competing in the Champions League and made it clear that he felt that he needed five years to get United where they want to be. The manager did also come with transfer ideas and demands, revealing that he would like several of his current Ajax players to be signed if he is made manager, though it remains to be seen whether there will be reluctance from the club on that front given their bad luck with Eredivisie incomings previously.
Ten Hag’s interview suggests that he is prepared to completely reshape United, may that be tactically, physically or with summer signings. And it seems t have worked, with United reportedly stepping up their pursuit of the Ajax boss.
That will be a huge blow to Pochettino, who was understood to be keen on taking over the reins at Old Trafford. But, despite his Tottenham snub, it appears Ten Hag will finally land his dream move to the Premier League.
