Dutch manager Erik ten Hag is now in his third year at the helm of Premier League giants Manchester United and has had to deal with a number of problems both on and off the pitch.
In this pre-season, Ten Hag still has things to complete before the new season begins in order to prepare to take the “Red Devils” to where they should be next season.
1. Decisiveness that must still be maintained
Ten Hag’s main goal when he took over at Manchester United in 2022 was to instill a good attitude and discipline in his players after being seen as a key area that the Red Devils had neglected since the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s era. The
Dutch coach showed that he had absolute authority in managing the team by using a hard line with Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford ufabet http://ufabet999.app after all three players had behavioral problems. And of course, the board of directors of the Red Devils fully backed Ten Hag.
This summer, Ten Hag will still have to use the same old methods and must show the players that if anyone has a problem, they will not be in the first team anymore.
2. Decide on the player’s future
Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee and French defender Leni Yoro were brought in to replace Anthony Martial and Raphael Varane. Despite the excellent reinforcements, Ten Hag still needs a centre-back, a central midfielder and a right-back. Meanwhile, the likes of Victor Lindelof, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry
Maguire, Antony, Sancho, Scott McTominay, Christian Eriksen, Hannibal Mejbri and Casemiro have all returned to first-team training. And while not all of them will be leaving, their futures are still very uncertain. Ten Hag will have to cut the number of players who are not in the team’s plans, which would be a major overhaul for Man United in many years.
3. Bring Rashford’s form back
United finished third in the 2022-23 season, thanks in part to Rashford, who scored 17 Premier League goals and 30 in all competitions, but last season was a disappointing one, scoring just eight goals in 43 games in all competitions. Rasmus Hojlund
is only a youngster, while Serkzee has only just arrived, meaning Rashford will continue to shoulder the responsibility of scoring goals, and Ten Hag will have to find a way to get the 26-year-old England striker back into top form.
However, Rashford’s physical and mental issues are a concern, and Ten Hag and his coaching staff will have to find a way to deal with them.
4. Find a new right winger.
Ten Hag has a number of players who can play on the right wing, but none have been consistent. Attacking players like Sancho, Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho are all comfortable playing on the left. Facundo Pellistri
and Amad Diallo are natural right wingers and, despite having some first-team opportunities last season, they were just youngsters. Antony has also struggled to find consistency, and right wing is a position where United have serious problems.
5. Don’t make the same mistakes as before.
Ten Hag has said the biggest problem last season was the number of key players injured and it is true that he has said so, with the likes of Luke Shaw, Varane and Lisandro Martinez all barely playing, while Mason Mount, Hojlund and Rashford have all struggled. Ten Hag
insists it is down to bad luck, but some players start to struggle in pre-season because they are working too hard, which is important for the coaching staff to manage properly before the season starts.