Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has broken his silence on the “confrontation talks” he held with INEOS over the summer. And the Dutchman has also explained why he axed Benni McCarthy from his coaching set-up.
Ten Hag led the Red Devils to FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May but was then kept waiting on a decision over his future after club chiefs oversaw an end-of season review.
He was eventually told he would given the opportunity to manage United once again throughout the 2024/25 campaign following a holiday in Ibiza.
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“Yes, communication broke down [with INEOS],” Ten Hag explained during an interview with AD Sportwereld. “But I was just celebrating holidays with my loved ones, and I let things happen. I have no influence on that.
“Of course that is a strange state of affairs. But it’s not like I panicked. It’s a decision that was out of my hands. I just waited it out. At that moment you just think in two scenarios - either we continue or not. It’s that simple and I’m level-headed enough to look at it that way.
“They didn’t say ‘we still want to continue’, but ‘we want to continue’. The argument they gave was in short - we have looked at everything and compared everything, but we think we already have the best manager in house.
“Then I said, ‘then we have to discuss a number of things about how we will interact with each other and work together’. We had a good, honest, but also confrontational conversation about this. As it should be at the top.”
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Ten Hag has made a whole host of changes to his backroom set-up since the last campaign ended, with Rene Hake and former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy joining the club as assistant managers.
McCarthy, meanwhile, has been let go following a two-year spell as forwards coach, with former No. 2 Mitchell van der Gaag also heading through the Old Trafford exit.
And discussing the backroom changes, Ten Hag added: “If you want to get better, you have to innovate. Yes, we have looked closely at that (changing the staff). But when it comes to Mitchell van der Gaag, for example, with whom I have worked fantastically, things were a little different. He wanted to become a head coach again. Then that is the time to break up.
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“I look at quality. This is the Premier League. Not only do you look at the absolute top when composing your group of players, this also applies to the coaches, specialists and staff members.
“In almost the entire English top management you see that managers surround themselves with international top people, often people with whom they have a relationship of trust or who they already know.
“It was no different at Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp and now under Arne Slot. But you see it everywhere. At Manchester City, at Arsenal, at Spurs, at Aston Villa. Spaniards, Germans, Dutch, Australians, you name it.
“I started looking for people who I know are good. Loyalty is also a thing. Ruud van Nistelrooy - a fantastic, experienced coach with United DNA. We have a talented British coach in Darren Fletcher. Rene was someone with the same profile as Mitchell had - a very good and experienced, analytically strong field coach.”
