Ten Hag's Man Utd changes: Exiling leaks and banning alcohol

Karan Tejwani

7 Jul 2022 13:00 BST
3 min read

Erik ten Hag, Man Utd, 2021/22 — © ProShots

Manchester United’s new head coach Erik ten Hag has been overseeing training with his side since the end of June, and has made some big changes in his short time there.

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The Red Devils had a difficult season last time around, finishing sixth in the Premier League and trophyless overall, and will be hoping for a change in fortunes in 2023.

There were also internal issues within the club, with plenty of criticism directed towards fitness regimes, the lack of playing ideology, leaks about classified club information to the media and more.

To ease his work, Ten Hag has launched a few guidelines to avoid facing any issues when he’s in charge and most importantly, get some good results to get his team going.

The first thing the Dutchman wants to avoid is information being leaked to the media, and in order to do so, he announced that any player involved would be exiled from the squad.

This was something interim boss Ralf Rangnick was very cautious about, and according to reports at the time, it was something he worked towards ironing out.

Erik ten Hag in training: "Making too many mistakes.."

Notice how he's been taking them on one-touch, quick-passing football?

Reminds me when he said "good is not good enough. The intention is to play fantastic football and win".pic.twitter.com/yFNrueetrE
— UtdFaithfuls (@UtdFaithfuls) July 5, 2022

Additionally, to ensure discipline, he announced to the squad that they would be dropped if they are late to training sessions or team meetings, regardless of their status in the squad.

Ten Hag has been known to be a keen disciplinarian, showing that at both Ajax and Utrecht, where he focused on the smallest of details, including how they arranged their bibs after training.

Another aspect Ten Hag has been focusing on is the fitness and nutrition of his players, and he has made changes to the menus at the training ground to ensure his players are eating right.

He wants the same chefs preparing meals for all his players, rather than the players having their own personal chefs, and has pushed for fish and vegetables to be used more than they were before.

Additionally, he wants to reduce the consumption of alcohol, banning drinks in match weeks to ensure players are in the best condition for games.

Finally, he also wants greater communication, asking players to come visit him if they have any issues rather than going to their agents or the media.

He also wants players to talk to each other and develop a high level of respect between each other in order to have greater harmony in the team.

The Red Devils play their first match in pre-season next week when they travel to Thailand face Liverpool in a friendly, before travelling to Australia and Norway as well.