Erik ten Hag can succeed if Manchester United improve off-field decision-making

Erik ten Hag was on Friday confirmed as the fifth permanent Manchester United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired nine years ago.

Dutch giants Ajax are on track for their third Eredivisie title under Ten Hag's stewardship, having gone four seasons without winning it prior to their current run, and they also reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in 22 years in 2018-19.

The way the Ajax boss rebuilt his team after the stars of 2018-19 were poached by Europe's elite clubs marked him out as an exciting coach. However, the scale of the rebuild needed if he is to fashion a Manchester United side in his image will be on another level.

After a decade during which backroom decision-making at Old Trafford has been a mess, there finally appears to be an acceptance that the club structure needs modernising, that there isn't a secret 'Manchester United way' which they are just a marquee signing or a new manager away from unlocking again.

United's current, bloated squad is a mish-mash of players signed under different managers. The most recent of those were Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho, who generally favoured counter-attacking football. Ten Hag represents the boldest but also the riskiest choice the United board could have made as his arrival should herald a significant departure from their recent playing style.

His Ajax side are aggressive counter-pressers who seek to win the ball back as quickly as possible.

In this season's Champions League group stage, per data from The Analyst, they had the lowest opposition passes-per-defences-action figure (PPDA), meaning they allowed opponents to complete the fewest passes before interrupting them with a tackle or interception.

The sides just below them in that metric were the Red Bull teams – Salzburg and Leipzig – where United's interim boss Ralf Rangnick was director of football until 2020, and the Jurgen Klopp- and Thomas Tuchel-coached Liverpool and Chelsea.

Rangnick has had little success in getting this group of Red Devils players to consistently press and buy into his methods, although he will at least be able to mark his successor's card over the current state and suitability of the squad as he moves into an advisory role.

United rank just 13th in PPDA in the Premier League this term and it will be vital that their recruitment team do a better job identifying players with the right profile for how the new manager wishes to play.

Rangnick recently bemoaned the squad's lack of "physicality" and they can expect to work harder under Ten Hag. The average Ajax outfield player covered 11.1km per game in this season's Champions League, a whopping 1.6km more per player per game than United's average of 9.5km.

Ajax have conceded just 15 goals in 29 league games this season, having shipped only 23 in 34 matches last term. Fixing United's 12th-ranked defence will be one of Ten Hag's biggest challenges, although the arrival of a new defensive midfielder to offer some protection and better-coached build-up to cut out some of the turnovers in their own half would be a big help in that department.

Taking charge of Manchester United is a significant step up for Ten Hag, who is not used to managing players of the stature of the United squad, and it will require time to instigate the overhaul needed.

Ultimately, though, how well United are able to provide coordinated off-field support and structure will be just as important as what their new boss brings to the training ground.

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