Erik ten Hag: Inside story of how Man Utd boss has transformed club's fortunes | OneFootball

Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United side are now up to third in the Premier League after their 2-1 victory over Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.

The come-from-behind win at Old Trafford means that the Red Devils have now lost just once in their last 19 competitive matches since they were beaten 6-3 by City at the Etihad back in early October.

United looked a million miles from top-four contenders during that humbling defeat, but Ten Hag stuck faithfully to his principles and has ultimately been able to transform a club in dire need of a fresh approach.

When the 52-year-old Dutchman arrived from Ajax in late May last year, he inherited a divided dressing room at a club that had rarely enjoyed stability since Sir Alex Ferguson departed the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ at the end of the 2012/13 campaign.

The Daily Mail’s Chris Wheeler recently went in-depth on how Ten Hag has turned things around at United – and, boy, has he had plenty to deal with over the last eight months.

Erik ten Hag: How has the Dutchman transformed the culture at Manchester United?

New code of discipline at Old Trafford

From the first day of the club’s summer tour in Bangkok, Ten Hag imposed his will upon his new squad.

Not happy that some of his players were walking around in flip-flops, the new manager swiftly introduced a new dress code that every member of the group needed to follow while on club business.

Ten Hag would also flex his muscles shortly afterwards in Australia when he blocked MUTV cameras from filming the players taking a tour of the Neighbours set during one of their few days off on the tour.

‘Discipline is paramount’

That same level of control has extended to eating arrangements and rest periods for the squad. Meal times in the canteen at the club’s Carrington training base are now fixed and everyone is expected to eat together. Mobile phones are also banned during these gatherings.

There are some pretty harsh penalties for failing to follow instructions, too.

When Marcus Rashford slept in and missed a team meeting ahead of the visit to Wolves just before the turn of the year, Ten Hag dropped him for United’s starting line-up for the match.

The England forward was one of the team’s top performers at the time, but that didn’t bother Ten Hag one bit. His rules needed to be respected or there would be consequences. As the Mail’s article puts it: ‘Discipline is paramount, even if it weakens the team.’

Teenage sensation Alejandro Garnacho met a similar fate earlier in the season, being frozen out for four games after missing a pair of team meetings.

In both cases, though, it is notable that neither man chose to sulk over their punishments.

Rashford came off the bench against Wolves to score the winning goal as part of an ongoing run where he has now found the back of the net in seven consecutive matches.

Garnacho, too, has since worked his way back into the first-team set-up.

When speaking about Ten Hag’s considerable influence on the club, Portuguese playmaker Bruno Fernandes was full of praise for his boss, admitting: ‘The discipline the manager brought to everyone has changed the mentality of the entire club, not only the players.’

Big decisions on big names

Two men who saw their power at United dwindle almost immediately after Ten Hag joined were Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire.

The Ronaldo saga was an important battle for Ten Hag to win, according to Wheeler, as it served as ‘the perfect opportunity to lay down a marker to the rest of the squad’.

Ultimately, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was shown the door by the club during the 2022 World Cup – and United haven’t lost a game since.

Club captain Maguire has also seen a marked reduction in his own playing time, with Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane being preferred in central defence.

Summer recruitment has paid off handsomely

In addition to working well with players that he inherited – such as Rashford and Garnacho – Ten Hag’s purchases in the transfer market have largely been successful.

In an interview with Voetbal International last week, the United boss said of his transfer policy: “We needed personalities – United’s shirt weighs heavily.”

Martinez, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Antony and Tyrell Malacia all featured as United took derby day bragging rights at Old Trafford, a nod to the effectiveness of Ten Hag’s recruitment.

The Dutchman has also been pretty much spot on when it has come to the selection of his own staff.

New forwards coach Benni McCarthy has received plenty of praise for the work he has done with the likes of Rashford. However, the South African is far from the only new face in the coaching ranks at Old Trafford.

Former Ajax performance analyst Kevin Keij has been joined by Dutch sports psychologist Rainier Koers, while chef Ryan Thompson now looks after the team’s nutrition.

Ten Hag is also flanked on the Old Trafford bench by his two assistants, Mitchell van der Gaag and the returning Steve McLaren.

Ten Hag’s no-nonsense approach to training

The new United brains trust quickly realised the size of the task ahead of them when they were humbled 4-0 at Brentford in Ten Hag’s second Premier League match in charge.

In the aftermath of that defeat, Ten Hag took his side to the newly-refurbished team meeting room at Carrington – which he had demanded by upgraded at a cost of £200,000 – to watch a replay of the match in detail.

Afterwards, the United boss infamously ordered his players to go on an eight-and-a-half-mile run. However, he would earn the respect of the group by joining them on the challenge himself.

Training sessions are also said to be far more demanding than United’s stars were previously used to.

Players are often instructed to train with their weaker foot. Tap-ins are said to be ‘frowned upon’ – although everyone is still expected to hit the back of the net during training drills.

As one source put it, Ten Hag appears to have become ‘even more obsessed with discipline the longer he has been in the job’.

The obsession, though, is paying dividends. The Red Devils haven’t lost a Premier League game since November 6 last year and look primed to become unlikely contenders for the title if they can keep up their exceptional form.

Premier League reaction (Via The Football Terrace)