Ten Hag takes charge of Manchester United U21 to develop players
After playing a key role in Ajax developing players such as Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, and Antony, ten Hag has taken charge of Manchester United Under-21s to ease youngsters' path to the first team.
Being renowned for developing outstanding young players in his previous job at Ajax,
Erik ten Haglooks forward to replicating his fame during his reign at Old Trafford as he takes charge of the
Manchester UnitedUnder-21 team.
With
Alejandro Garnachoenjoying a breakthrough season this term, ten Hag believes United's under-21 side was neglected. He said:
"For me, cooperation between all the different departments is crucial to get the right culture in a club.
"Like at Ajax, when I entered Manchester United, the reserve team was isolated.
"It was no longer really part of the academy, but it wasn't part of the first team either. I changed that immediately, just as I did when I entered Amsterdam.
"At Ajax, the reserve team came under the responsibility of the manager. That was the only way I could have influence on the flow of young, talented players towards the first team.
"Of course, I still give the coaches freedom to work, but I also give them direction, by saying for example, 'I want that player to start playing minutes in that position'.
"So the final responsibility lies with me about how the second team performs and the flow of players that goes from the reserve team to the first team."
The
Dutchman
explained his cooperation with his coaching staff and their qualities. He added:
"I talked to [director of football] John Murtough about this at length before I came to Manchester, and he set it up in such a way that I can work this way here too.
"In the Netherlands, I made the step towards taking more of a managerial role at Ajax. If you don't have competent people around you, you can't delegate and you're going to do it all yourself anyway.
"But if you do have competent people, you have to bring them into your vision and then you can delegate tasks. An example is the training process with the senior team.
"I know this is in good hands with Mitchell. I can often take an overview view. Then, as a manager, you see a lot more than if you are working on the training exercises yourself."
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