Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been praised for his positive impact at Old Trafford by club chiefs.
Ten Hag took over from Ralf Rangnick following the end of the 2021/22 campaign and although his reign as boss got off to the worst possible start with opening defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford in August, he has since turned things around to take United up to fifth.
Four consecutive victories, which included wins against Liverpool and Arsenal, has transformed his side’s fortunes in the early part of this season, and football director John Murtough has praised Ten Hag for bringing “increased unity, focus and drive” to the club.
Speaking to official club media, Murtough said: “After a thorough search and due diligence process, it was clear to us that Erik was the strongest candidate, based on his outstanding coaching record, his commitment to the proactive, attacking football we want to play, and the vision and ambition he showed for the role.
“There is still a long way to go, but we have already seen, during his first four months in charge, an increased unity, focus and drive that bodes well for the future.”
Ten Hag has certainly changed the way United play this season and that has shown within their four straight victories. The team has performed far better than they did for large parts of last season, and an improvement in team spirit and belief is evident.
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That also comes down to an overhaul of players over the summer. United were often criticised for their ‘toxic’ changing room last season but that has been impacted majorly after Ten Hag oversaw 28 departures throughout the transfer window, with six fresh faces also arriving.
Antony, Casemiro, Martin Dubravka, Christian Eriksen, Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez have provided a huge injection of quality and competition into the squad, and are vast improvements on a number of players that have departed in recent months.
Dealing with Cristiano Ronaldo in a professional manner has also earned the Dutchman plenty of plaudits, with the 37-year-old being humbled for his behaviour over the summer by starting on the bench for five of the first six games of the Premier League campaign.
But it is also a change in mentality to not just his squad, but the club in general, that Murtough has welcomed, with ‘stagnation’ often a word used to describe the Red Devils in the past few years. Now, there is more urgency to improve and move forward than ever before.
As Murtough also says, however, there is still a long way to go. Should United suffer a poor run of results, criticism will instantly find its way towards Ten Hag and his players, and so those in support of the club should not be getting too ahead of themselves just yet.
But the early signs have been promising from a man that has a huge job on his hands, while a nomination for the Premier League Manager of the Month award for September also offers plenty of encouragement. Although things aren’t quite perfect just yet, his influence on his team, as well as the club, are being noticed.
