Erik ten Hag says Ajax players are excited for him as he prepares to take over as Manchester United manager — and the Dutchman even took them gaming to compensate. United confirmed the appointment of Ten Hag on Thursday morning and he'll begin work in the summer.
Before then, the 52-year-old and his Ajax team are chasing a third Eredivisie title in four seasons — although dreams of a double were ended by PSV in the Dutch Cup final seven days ago. Moving forward Ten Hag will be tasked with helping United to their first silverware since the 2016/2017 campaign.
After watching United slip to a 3-1 defeat against Arsenal — which all-but ended their top-four hopes — on Saturday Ten Hag guided Ajax to a 3-1 victory which puts them four points clear at the Eredivisie summit.
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There are still four games to go to hold off a charge from second-placed PSV as Ten Hag strives to end his time at the Amsterdam helm on a high. But how did the Ajax players react to his United appointment?
Speaking after their NEC Nijmegen win, Ten Hag said: "The players are really excited for me, that's beautiful. I have worked at Ajax for a long time and created great relationships."
On his unconventional pre-match motivating tactic, Ten Hag said: "The atmosphere in your squad is the key, that's why I did something different with the squad this week. We went gaming, all together. Gaming, real gaming, the E-Sport way!"
