Erik ten Hag names three things he wants from his Manchester United side

07.08.2022 - 08:07 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Erik ten Hag admits he is well aware of the need to not only win matches, but win them in a certain style as manager of Manchester United. The Dutchman begins his reign as United manager this weekend with their Premier League opener against Brighton at Old Trafford.

United will need a positive start in order to set a benchmark for the rest of the campaign but there will also be plenty of scrutiny on how they go about doing it. Ten Hag is well aware of such expectations following his time as Ajax manager, with the Dutch club always compared to their glory days under Johan Cruyff.

It is no different at United where sides are regularly compared with iconic teams under Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, and the new manager is well aware of the demand for entertaining football.

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"You are talking like a Dutchman, eh? They always want to play brilliant football!" Ten Hag joked when quizzed on the expectations to win in style.

"That's why I am here, I like it, you want to win and you want to win it in a certain way. Proactive, brave, adventure and I think that is what belongs to the culture of Man United. We want to bring it in.

"But at the end of the day, if you can not win in a good way, entertaining way, we still have to win. That is the mentality, the attitude, that we have to bring in."

When asked if there was also a need to adopt a more pragmatic approach and win some matches with 'ugly football', Ten Hag added: "Of course. There will be games where you don't play well but still have to win."

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