'We will never': Erik ten Hag makes surprise admission over playing style after derby defeat
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has insisted that he will never adopt the playing style from his time at Ajax because he has different players at the club.
The Red Devils suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at Old Trafford yesterday. They were dominated and the margin of loss could have been wider. Andre Onana made seven key saves.
Speaking after the game, Ten Hag spoke to different outlets. During an interview with Viaplay (via The Mail), he was asked why he has not played with the same tactical set-up from his Ajax days.
In response, the Dutch tactician said that won’t happen at United as he has different players, who prefer to play a more direct style of football. he said: “Never. We will never play that football.”
“Because those were different players. This is also not why I came here. We are playing different football than I showed at Ajax because I have to because I can’t play the same way.”
“The players decide how you play. Ajax has a very typical and characteristic style of play, with Manchester United I will always show different football, I did so last year as well. We play much more direct football here because I have the players for that here.”
Ten Hag’s playing style has been influenced by the Premier League
Ten Hag played a free-flowing style of football at Ajax but the approach has been different at United with more counter-attacks. Some fans have questioned why this has been the case.
The manager has stated that he won’t use the same tactics at United, but his point of view could have been different. He could have mentioned the difficulty and higher intensity of the Premier League.
In the Eredivisie, Ajax dominated games with possession and easily got behind defenders. It is different at United who have come up against possession-based sides and teams with low-block defences.
While the players are part of the reason behind his current playing style, Ten Hag is also being compelled to use the same system as clubs are prepared to high press them which was not the case at Ajax.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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