Erik ten Hag has made a steady start to life as Manchester United manager but one post-match interview habit has left the club’s supporters scratching their heads in confusion.
Ten Hag took over from Ralf Rangnick over the summer and has achieved some impressive results, although Sunday’s 3-1 reverse at Aston Villa was a reminder of the scale of his task to revive the Premier League’s most successful club.
Speaking after the game, the former Ajax manager said: “We lost the game at the start of the first half and second half and that is not acceptable. They looked more fresh and more ready. We need to be more sharp.
“The result is really clear. It never lies. Today we were not good enough. We didn’t get the right organization. We created chances and good chances at 2-1. But you are really disappointed to concede at the start of the second half.”
Ten Hag also criticised United’s continuous attempts to find Cristiano Ronaldo with crosses, something he said was not part of the gameplan.
“I think it was stupid to do that. We delivered some crosses in for too far. We have to bring in crosses in the right moment. It was collectively a bad performance.”
The 52-year-old is a reserved character, with many wondering how he would adapt after taking the United job over the summer.
In the last few weeks, ten Hag has started to cut a more relaxed figure in post-match interviews and open up more about his team and methods.
Everyone’s picked up on his mannerisms now as well. One, in particular, has managed to leave many scratching their heads.
Ten Hag has ended his post-match interviews by saying ‘please’, which is apparently the Dutch equivalent of ‘no problem’. Language is a wonderful and malleable thing and, if he can achieve success at Old Trafford, we’re sure United fans will be imitating their manager soon enough.
Erik ten Hag: “Please” #mufc pic.twitter.com/t1MQlrz0eC
— tenHag (@tenHagExtra) November 5, 2022
