Manchester United managerial target Erik ten Hag has another fan in his books. Now, Steve McClaren has compared the current Ajax manager to legendary United coach Sir Alex Ferguson.
This is a big claim and to think about this Erik ten Hag boasts qualities that make him a coach who closely resembles the greatest manager to step foot in the Premier League.
The Red Devils are hungry to sign a new manager to replace Ralf Rangnick as they aim to bring back their glory days. Several coaches have been suggested and interviewed but Ten Hag seems to be the favorite to come to Old Trafford.
Steve McClaren was Alex Ferguson’s assistant way back in the early 2000s. He has also worked with Ten Hag during their time together at FC Twente. And now, Ten Hag has been hugely praised by McClaren, who describes him as “extremely disciplined and outstanding tactically”.
While talking to The Telegraph, he said:
“His great strength lies not just in his attention to detail and organization. He has a clear philosophy of how he wants to play football; the environment he wants to create. Erik is very disciplined and people have to buy into that and have that work ethic. Tactically he’s outstanding.”
“He worked with Pep at Bayern Munich and took in his philosophy too. They called him “Mini Pep” out there. He’s ready. A lot of top clubs in Germany and England will be out to get him. The only other one I would have seen do that? That would have been the gaffer [Alex Ferguson].”
These are pretty big words by McClaren but when you look at Erik ten Hag’s achievements, you would agree with him. He has won two Eredivisie titles and also helped Ajax reach the Champions League semi-finals.
He lost a number of key players such as Frenkie de Jong, and Matthijs de Ligt to bigger teams but was still able to build another strong team in a year or so.
His close attention to detail and quality of nurturing young players makes him one of the most sought-after managers in Europe.
