Erik ten Hag clearly isn’t one for sunbathing on the beach with a good book.
Manchester United’s new manager has decided to get straight down to business at Old Trafford just one day after taking charge of his final match for Ajax.
‘We have agreed that I will be employed by United from May 16… It’s time to turn the switch now,’ he said following Ajax’s 2-2 draw at Vitesse on Sunday.
After an intensive season, Ten Hag would have been perfectly entitled to take a few weeks to recharge the batteries.
Erik ten Hag has wasted no time in getting down to work as Manchester United’s new manager
The Dutch coach delivered another league title to Ajax before his departure to Old Trafford
But he is clearly eager to hit the ground running – having already held a United planning meeting in Amsterdam last week – and that’s probably just as well because there’s an awful lot to do.
United are at their lowest ebb in decades. They are miles behind their main rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, and still could end up playing in next season’s Europa Conference League.
A colossal rebuild is required of Ten Hag that will take the three years of his contract and probably much longer. His in-tray isn’t so much full but overflowing.
With that in mind, we take a look at the new manager’s formidable to-do list as he continues forward planning for his new job.
It’s been a season of misery for United, who can only finish at best sixth in the Premier League
FINALISE HIS COACHING STAFF
This topic was high on the agenda at the planning meeting Ten Hag assembled in Amsterdam last Thursday, the day after Ajax secured the Eredivisie title.
United football director John Murtough was in attendance, as was Ten Hag’s long-standing assistant Mitchell van der Gaag, who is set to accompany him to Manchester.
Van der Gaag was coach of Jong Ajax for two years before being promoted to Ten Hag’s assistant manager at the beginning of last season.
He speaks five languages – Dutch, English, Spanish,…