Manchester United’s new coach Erik ten Hag was confused in a talk with journalists in Australia when asked if he would need the “hair dryer” to get his message across to his players.
He said of Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous loss of temper approach, through The Times: “I don’t need the hair dryer!”
Ten Hag revealed that he has held talks with the legendary Manchester United coach, who has won the Premier League 13 times and the Champions League twice.
The Dutchman added that the details of the conversations between the couple will remain, for the time being, private.
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Conversations with Sir Alex Ferguson
Ten Hag told The Mail: “I had contact with him, but what we talked about is private
“It’s always great to talk to Sir Alex about life, but especially about football.”
It’s been nine years since Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement as Manchester United manager, and Erik ten Hag is the fifth permanent boss since.
He follows David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, while Ralf Rangnick also played the role for an extended interim period last season.
The rapid succession of bosses over the past nine years shows how bad Manchester United have been, and one of the constants during this stretch, CEO Ed Woodward, finally left the club earlier this year.
This long-awaited departure makes United hope that everything will be different under Ten Hag. It certainly means business.
Ten Hag can also call up Sir Alex’s former United assistant Steve McClaren, who has joined his coaching staff.
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“Severe” in the discipline
Ten Hag stepped back a bit in his initial answer to the question about using the “hair dryer,” adding, “Sometimes you have to use the whole set of tools you have.”
He warned that if players cannot show the right attitude off the field of play, they will not be part of their team, whoever they are.
He explained, through The Mail: “When there is no discipline (off the field of play), you will not find it on the field.
“I’m very strict with these issues. But I think the same players also depend on being severe with each other, because if they want to succeed they have to be united. Sometimes you have to correct.
“I will tell each player what I expect from them. I have high standards because you are here, you play for Manchester United, then you have to take it to the field every day. Why don’t you act by your standards? That’s an expectation I have. “.
Sir Alex Ferguson would be proud. The Scotsman ruled with an iron fist off the pitch, always knowing what his players were doing, and was not afraid to leave big names out, occasionally to the detriment of the team, but in their entirety he achieved unparalleled success. If Ten Hag can handle only a part of it, he will have done very well.
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