There will be plenty of introductions taking place at Carrington this week. Manchester United’s players might not have a new manager to welcome, but the voices on the training pitches will be different.
Erik ten Hag survived a tense end-of-season review to remain as United manager, with the club activating the extension in his contract last week to ensure he is tied down for two more years. He retained the title of manager and significant power in recruitment.
But Ten Hag had to make some concessions and one of them was a shake-up of the staff around him. Highly-rated coach Eric Ramsay had already left for a head coach role at Minnesota United before the end of the season, while Benni McCarthy didn’t have his contract renewed.
There was so much uncertainty around the backroom staff at Old Trafford that one coach, whose deal expired on June 30, was just a week earlier telling clubs interested in recruiting him that he didn’t know what his future held at United. As the contracts of coaches ticked down to expiry, the priority remained on reaching an agreement with Ten Hag.
Gradually, the bricks are falling into place, and the Dutch flavour at Carrington has only been strengthened. The canteen might need to top up on pancakes and cans of Heineken. 0%, of course.
Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake are set to join Ten Hag’s staff, as is goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar. All three were at Carrington for the start of pre-season training, but are waiting on visas before they can formally begin work. Steve McClaren also remains at the club, although he is on crutches for now after having an operation on his foot.
Mitchell van der Gaag is expected to be the most high-profile casualty. The 52-year-old has been Ten Hag’s right-hand man since stepping up to the role of assistant at Ajax ahead of the 2021/22 season. He is now expected to pursue ambitions to become a manager in his own right once again, having previously taken charge of clubs in Portugal and Cyprus, as well as the Netherlands.
