He can be hard with players but players are always very positive about him - even players who don't play or players who leave to go to another club. Boudewijn Pahlplatz on Erik ten Hag Up front, Ajax uses a traditional target man. While Erik ten Hag have previously used a more unorthodox striker (False 9 or deep-lying forward), the introduction of Sebastian Haller meant Ajax had different strategies to lean on. With Sebastian Haller they now had a more direct route to goal. Besides providing more depth to the team’s structure, it gave Ajax more options when entering the final third. Ten Hag's demands have been physically and mentally taxing, with punishments of press-ups when a goal has been conceded or the maximum amount of passes have been exceeded, but the rewards have been evident in match situations.

Donny van de Beek revealed how hard it is to break down the Ten Hag way on account of just how much it entails. "You can see it in the pressures, in our variations with building-up play, how we switch play, speed it up, keep the ball… It's so much, it's hard to explain." Ten Hag was later an assistant under Fred Rutten, then Steve McClaren, before following Rutten to PSV for three seasons. It was in the summer of 2012, aged 42 and after a decade of coaching, that he took his first head coaching job with Go Ahead Eagles. The playing journey with Twente that had begun when they were teenagers ended for Pahlplatz and Ten Hag in 2002, but the latter moved seamlessly into a coaching role with the U17 side. He did that for a season before assuming control of the U19 group. According to The Analyst, no other teams have had more shots on goal (11) after a high turnover than Ajax in the Champions League 2021-22, as of November 24th, 2021. Ajax’s pressing abilities has resulted in 8.2 in PPDA (passes played per defensive actions) making them into the third best club in Europe. This means that an average of 8.2 passes are played from the opposition before Ajax successfully regains possession. Topping the list are Liverpool (7.2) and Chelsea (7.5). This was a small mid-table second division club in a small city in the east. It grew into something else when he was in charge. He changed the mentality in the club. He changed the mentality of the players and the people who worked there. From day one, actually." 'Everything needs to be perfect with him'For 1997–98 UEFA Cup: Ionescu. The Complete Results & Line-ups of the UEFA Cup 1991–2004. p.192, 197, 201. By combining specific passing patterns and the focus on increasing the number of passing options for the player on the ball with aggressive press and looking to win possession as high up the pitch as possible, Ajax manage to dominate the match both in possession of the ball, in transition and off the ball. But no, Utd fans and Neville think they need more investment and the Glazers aren't helping them... Bruno Fernandes has welcomed Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag's 'strict' management style and clear philosophy Erik Ten Hag is currently in the leading position to take up the job as Manchester United manager due to his ability to work wonders at Ajax over the past 5 years. With limited resources and continuously being forced to re-build the squad by incorporating young Dutch talents to replace those being poached by bigger clubs, he has done a phenomenal job making Ajax into one of the leading clubs in Europe.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Ten Hag". Voetbal International. Archived from the original on 11 March 2009. Fresh from spending an hour with Ten Hag reminiscing about their time together at Go Ahead Eagles, Vriends is convinced his old boss will adapt, just as he has to every previous challenge. A case in point was the cut up AAMI Park pitch for a closed training session on a Monday morning following an Aussie Rules game. After four weeks of 11 against zero we were thinking, 'What is this? It is so boring.' But after a couple of months of the season, there were matches where we knew what we had to do and everyone was seeing it the same way. It was really clear and it was working."He does a lot of repetition. That was almost a problem for him in the beginning at Utrecht and Ajax. He trained them very hard and very long to get his philosophy into the players. That takes hours. The Utrecht and Ajax players were not used to that. individual skills (flair and vision) to turn the result in their favor along with the technical abilities in possession of the ball. Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says his side played great football in the first half of their 2-2 friendly draw against Aston Villa but believes there is 'no excuse' for dropping a two-goal lead Ten Hag is fastidious. One of the first things he noticed was that the woman in charge of the kits at the club would bring out drinks and set them out on the table inside the dressing room. "She would put the drinks there just randomly," says Vriends.