Ten Hag on his dismissal claims and his behind-the-scenes reorganisation at Man Utd

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says he never considered quitting last season.

Ten Hag, speaking with ADVERTISEMENTadmits he found the campaign the toughest of his career.

But he also said, “This may sound a little clinical, but I think about these things in terms of process. And if you know how processes work, you know that the line often goes up.

“But sometimes also down due to circumstances. If you know what you are doing, if you know which way you want to go and base your decisions on that, in the most accurate way possible.

“If you set up the right structures and work together in a good way with clear lines. If you also have a good relationship with the players, with the people on the floor. Then you know that things will get better again.

“Combined with my football vision. If you look at my career, I have almost always gotten the most out of my teams over the last ten years. From Go Ahead Eagles to now here at United.

“And almost always won a trophy. That gives me a certain peace of mind. Success eventually came to United, even though it was late in the season. As difficult as it was, we won a trophy. In all the years before we came, that never happened.”

Ten Hag also dismissed claims he has doubts this new season: “No. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not perfect. But as long as I keep thinking about myself every day, keep developing and challenging myself to reach a higher level, I believe that will ultimately lead to success. In the Premier League – and that’s the great thing about this competition – everyone is good.”

The Dutchman was also asked about the reorganization of his staff.

He said: “If you want to get better, you have to innovate. We looked at that carefully. But in the case of Mitchell van der Gaag, with whom I worked fantastically, it was a bit different.

“He wanted to be head coach again. Then it’s time to part ways. I look at quality. This is the Premier League. Not only when putting together your squad of players do you look at the absolute top, the same goes for coaches, specialists and staff members.

“You see that at almost the entire English top: managers surround themselves with top international talent, often people with whom they have a relationship of trust or whom they already know.

“I looked for people who I knew were good. Loyalty is also important. Ruud van Nistelrooy: a fantastic, experienced coach with United DNA. With Darren Fletcher we have a talented British coach.

“René (Hake) was someone in the profile that Mitchell had: a very good and experienced, analytically strong field coach. And (Jelle) Ten Rouwelaar has trained three Dutch internationals, including Bart Verbruggen. With his innovative methods he is one of the great talents in the modern goalkeeper training.”