Erik ten Hag has warned the Manchester United squad that ‘no concessions’ will be made as he now looks to bring success back to the club.
Known for his vibrant and demanding style of football, Ten Hag has already won two Eredivisie titles and two Dutch cups while in charge of Ajax.
He will move to Old Trafford at the end of the campaign after agreeing a three-year deal to become Solskjaer’s permanent replacement and the Premier League club’s fifth manager since Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Red Devils have endured a dismal spell since Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, failing to keep pace with the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool and going five years without a trophy.
The power of United’s players has also been raised as a problem in recent years, with dressing room leaks a regular feature of both Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick’s reigns, and speculation that the players had turned against Solskjaer before his eventual sacking and have already lost faith in Rangnick.
While Ten Hag is considered one of the most respected managers in Europe, he will need to impose himself on the team from the off and has warned them that he will make ‘no concessions’ and intends to stick by his principles.
Asked whether he can cope with the big names at United and ‘the Cristiano Ronaldo’s of this world’, Ten Hag told Dutch outlet Trouw: ‘I think I can, but I will stay myself in that.
‘I won’t change my vision on coaching. The players always determine how you play, but I indicate the requirements that come with it and the standards.
‘I will tell them their task and whoever does not meet those tasks will hear that from me, no matter who it is. I make no concessions in that regard.’
Ten Hag’s United will likely be without Champions League football next season, with the team currently sixth in the Premier League – three points outside top-four – with five games left.
