Erik ten Hag has been told he should have tried to diversify his coaching staff after landing the job at Manchester United, rather than working with familiar faces.
Erik ten Hag worked with a lot of Dutch coaches at Manchester United
Erik ten Hag failed at Manchester United because he surrounded himself with familiar and uncritical voices, according to Guus Hiddink…Don’t Miss Out! CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING>>>
Ten Hag was sacked by United on October 28, the day after a miserable 2-1 defeat at West Ham. The Dutchman had presided over a dreadful start to the season and left the side in 14th place in the Premier League.
He has been replaced by Ruben Amorim, who has immediately set about tearing up the blueprint he inherited. Ten Hag won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup during his two-and-a-half-year stint at United but failed to find any consistency, despite having ÂŁ600million invested on players in the transfer market.
The former Ajax manager has previously been criticised for sticking his oar into transfer policy, with United signing a handful of players he had worked with at his previous club. Antony, Andre Onana, Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui all joined United during Ten Hag’s tenure, but former Chelsea boss Hiddink has identified another issue.
Upon his arrival at United, Ten Hag was joined by Steve McClaren and his former Ajax assistant Mitchell van der Gaag in the dugout. Ruud van Nistelrooy then joined the coaching staff, which also included Dutchmen Rene Hake, Jelle ten Rouwelaar and Pieter Morel. That clique around Ten Hag led to an echo chamber, according to Hiddink.
“Everyone does it in their own way, but I was surprised at how many confidants Erik gathered around him,” Hiddink told Voetbal International. “Then you end up on an island, which makes it more difficult to integrate into the culture of your new club and is watched with suspicion.
“I always took one assistant abroad with me, with whom I could map out things in the field of football. I therefore opted for local trainers and supervisors. People who knew the club or the country well. You play a role in how you are judged. Sometimes approach it with a wink. I mean, we are talking about football, not about war and peace.”erik ten hag
Erik ten Hag was replaced by Ruben Amorim following a run of poor results
United paid out ÂŁ10.4million in compensation to get rid of Ten Hag and his coaching staff, having handed out new contracts in the summer. They had to fork out a further ÂŁ11m to hire Amorim and his coaches Carlos Fernandes, Jorge Vital, Adelio Candido, Emanuel Ferro and Paulo Barreira who followed him from Sporting.
Amorim is United’s sixth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013. He has taken the same path as Ten Hag by bringing with him his coaching staff from his previous job at Sporting Lisbon, where he won two league titles.
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