Robin van Persie has likened Erik ten Hag to a 'prime minister' in the way he takes charge at Manchester United and has discussed his relationship with his fellow Dutchman.
The United great returned to Carrington last month to visit his old team and spend time with Ten Hag. Van Persie retired from the game in 2019 and since then has been working as a coach for Feyenoord. He revealed Ten Hag has been very open and helpful in sharing his knowledge as he aims to improve in the role.
“I was here for two days a couple of weeks ago,” Van Persie told BT Sport, "and the way how open he was towards me… he wants to share his knowledge and he wants to help a young coach.
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“I’m a young coach now. My playing days are gone and I don’t think about or dream about actions anymore. I think about tactics and systems and how I can put my team in the best possible way on a football pitch. That’s how I think now and he gave me some new ideas. I get new ideas everywhere and he was one of them who really opened the doors and I appreciate that."
Van Persie also loves to see the way Ten Hag has transformed the attitude around the club since taking charge last year.
“People are happy to watch Manchester United again and it gives them joy," he continued. "That is what you want as a football club, as a manager and as a player. You want to entertain, you want to do nice things on the pitch. You can only do that if you really work together and this is what these guys are doing for the past few months.
"Then you can see where it can go to. With every exercise there’s a clear idea or a clear target to reach for every player. From my point of view, a young coach, he gave me a lot of good insight to work on, both in possession and when the opponent has the ball.
"But also how to manage: not just a team but a whole club. It almost feels like a Prime Minister, the job he has. I always feel very welcome here at Manchester United and I like to see everyone is polite and everyone is happy to see you. That goes both ways.”
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