Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag gave an in-depth interview to Laurie Whitwell, The Athletic's Manchester United correspondent. Ten Hag reviewed Manchester United's 2022-23 season performance, the turning point of their Europa League elimination by Sevilla, and the impact of the 2023 summer pre-season on the team. He also discussed his trust in Bruno Fernandes, Mainoo's development, and the reasons why Manchester United was unable to contend for the Premier League title at the time. The following is the first part of the content.
A message made my phone vibrate: "I'll pick you up at the station." The sender was Erik ten Hag. My train was traveling from Amsterdam to Enschede in the eastern Netherlands, and Ten Hag offered to drive to pick me up. Although the train was delayed, he didn't seem to mind.
Soon after, he arrived in a silver Range Rover, got out, and shook my hand. He had just finished a day's work at FC Twente's home ground, De Grolsch Veste, where he now serves as the club's technical director.
He then drove us through the picturesque Dutch countryside to the Ros van Twente hotel. The hotel is co-owned by Ten Hag and his brothers Michel and Rico, along with John Belshaan and Anita Stapenbelt, who manage the hotel.
"They got married two weeks ago and surprised everyone," Ten Hag said with a smile.
Two years after leaving his managerial role at Manchester United, Ten Hag now appeared very relaxed. As the car drove through the flat fields, he told me about the history of the area.
"During the Second World War, the Germans came here. After the war, the British and Americans also came, and they stayed at the military airfield base."
The car stereo played an 80s playlist, and Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" came on.
"That was when there was real music; everything now is computer-made," he added.
Ten Hag then spoke about a disaster that occurred in 2000. He was a Twente player at the time when a warehouse supplying fireworks for a pop music concert exploded, killing 23 people, including 4 firefighters, injuring 950 others, and destroying 400 homes.
Ten Hag said that fortunately, the explosion did not affect the propane tanks at the Grolsch brewery on the outskirts of the city, otherwise the damage would have been even greater.
Twente's training ground was nearby, and some players' families and friends were also injured. However, the club still required the team to play their last match of the season the next day, away against Feyenoord.
After the match, Ten Hag gave a television interview, openly criticizing the club's management.
Ten Hag: "The club leadership was very angry with me at the time, but it was their decision to continue the match. Now everyone agrees: you can't play football when your city is burning."
Being outspoken was a recurring trait during our conversation in the hotel's private dining room.
In this interview, Ten Hag spoke with unprecedented candor about many important experiences during his time as Manchester United manager and his career after leaving Manchester United.
In January 2023, Ten Hag needed to find a striker to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo's departure. He used his connections in Dutch football to sign Weghorst on loan from Burnley.
To this day, he still believes that the striker's off-the-ball work was one of the key reasons Rashford was able to score 30 goals that season.
Ten Hag: "Wout (Weghorst) did very well for us, and his achievements in his career are amazing. The same goes for Marcel Sabitzer. We were successful, winning the League Cup and finishing third in the Premier League. The reason we became a real team was because they worked very hard. Weghorst was one of the reasons Rashford was able to play such an important role at the time."
The 1.98m tall Weghorst made a surprising appearance in the number 10 role at the Camp Nou, while Rashford played as a striker and scored in Manchester United's 2-2 away draw against Barcelona.
That was the first leg of the Europa League knockout play-off. Back at Old Trafford, Manchester United came from a goal down to win 2-1, creating one of the most memorable European nights at Old Trafford in recent years.
Weghorst then started as a striker in the League Cup final against Newcastle United at Wembley and provided a through ball that helped Rashford score, extending the lead to 2-0.
However, just one week later, Manchester United suffered a crushing 0-7 defeat at Anfield.
Ten Hag: "That team lacked stability. When we were in good form, we could compete with the best teams in the Premier League and even the world, I would even say. But at our worst, our performance simply hit rock bottom."
"In that game at Liverpool, we clearly hit rock bottom, mentally as well. That was our next Premier League game after winning the League Cup. We were on a high emotionally, and perhaps a bit overconfident when we arrived at Anfield, and we were punished for it. The opponent scored with almost every attack."
However, in Ten Hag's opinion, what truly changed the trajectory of his Manchester United managerial career was not that 0-7 defeat, but the Europa League quarter-final a month later.
Manchester United had a 2-0 lead against Sevilla in the first leg, but were ultimately eliminated 5-2 on aggregate.
Ten Hag: "That team couldn't function properly without two players."
The two players he was referring to were Lisandro Martinez and Bruno Fernandes.
Ten Hag: "Licha (Lisandro Martinez) was very important for us in building up play from the back, and he also brought a winning mentality and the ability to win duels. And Bruno. In the first leg of that game, when we were 2-0 up, I decided to substitute Bruno with 30 minutes left, and then Lisandro broke his foot."
That season, Manchester United won 27 home games, equaling the club's record for most home wins in a single season. If they could have held onto their lead against Sevilla at Old Trafford, they would have broken that record.
Ten Hag's trust in Bruno Fernandes was also reflected in his decision to appoint the Portuguese midfielder as captain.
Ten Hag: "I think it was good for the team, the best solution, and good for him personally. Obviously, he has strengths and weaknesses, but he has an excellent understanding of the game, is a top professional, and always gives his all. His lifestyle is also very professional."
"He pushes himself to the limit every day and constantly drives the team forward."
Ten Hag laughed.
Ten Hag: "Sometimes he gets emotional, but he's a winner."
Ten Hag also allowed Bruno Fernandes a certain degree of tactical freedom during matches.
Ten Hag: "I gave him some freedom in the game plan. I think I've always been a very self-critical and reflective person. I have to say, I can't think of a single game where the players weren't willing to implement our game plan on the pitch."
"They always tried to execute it because I think they believed in what we were doing."
Before the start of the 2023-24 season, Manchester United's pre-season preparations had already revealed some problems.
That summer, Manchester United traveled to New Jersey, San Diego, Houston, and Las Vegas, crossing the Atlantic and moving between multiple cities, flying approximately 13,650 miles in total. Ten Hag revealed that such a schedule had a serious impact on the players.
Ten Hag: "That tour put too much burden on the players. The long journeys exhausted us. We started in New York, played in Houston, went to Las Vegas, and then returned."
"We gave the players a few days off, but for the next 10 days, we couldn't conduct normal tactical and physical training because they were completely worn out... We didn't reach our ideal physical condition throughout the entire season."
Mainoo, who was only 18 at the time, suffered an ankle injury in a match against Real Madrid in Texas.
When he finally made his first Premier League start in an away game against Everton, he helped Manchester United to a 3-0 victory and was named man of the match.
As early as July 2022, when Ten Hag first noticed Mainoo, he already realized that Manchester United's academy had produced a rare talent.
Ten Hag: "The first time I saw him was when he was playing for the reserves. I thought, 'Okay, this is an amazing talent.' But his way of playing was too easy."
"I realized that we needed to get him used to a higher intensity of play. So, we started putting him through some training programs and challenging him in terms of dynamic ability."
Mainoo recently publicly praised the training arranged by Ten Hag and assistant coach Mitchell van der Gaag.
He told Seedorf in an Amazon Prime show that the training, while "tough," was also "one of the best trainings" he had experienced in his career.
Mainoo also said: "The intensity and competitiveness of those training sessions really helped me a lot at that stage."
Ten Hag laughed. He often had comments from players criticizing his coaching methods forwarded to him, but he hadn't heard Mainoo's praise before.
Ten Hag: "For me, Kobbie is a special player. Many people are developing him and supporting him. But in the end, it's up to him."
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