Erik ten Hag is driven by a desire to prove the haters wrong.
According to two of the friends who know him best, the Manchester United manager’s laid-back demeanour disguises a burning ambition to prove he was born to win. Clemens Zwijnenberg, once a right-back at Bristol City, has known Ten Hag since they came through the youth system together at FC Twente almost 40 years ago.
He still has holiday photographs from back in the day, one showing Ten Hag with a full head of dark hair wearing budgie-smuggler swimming trunks. Former Brighton midfielder Hans Kraay is another close confidante. He played alongside the 51-year-old at De Graafschap and is now a highly-respected broadcaster in his homeland.
