sport news Man Utd: Erik ten Hag is the studious, serious boss ready to rule Old Trafford ... trends now

Erik ten Hag was talking about dressing room discipline when the subject of Sir Alex Ferguson’s fabled hairdryer came up in Melbourne on Monday.

For a moment, the bald-headed Dutchman looked puzzled before breaking into a broad smile. ‘But I don’t need the hairdryer!’ grinned Ten Hag.

It was the one moment of levity in an otherwise serious yet engaging half-hour in the company of Manchester United’s new manager. Ten Hag is every bit the studious, demanding coach he is made out to be; a man who knows what he wants and has not come to United to fail.

So what makes him think that he can succeed where the likes of Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have not?

‘I must say I have a strong belief,’ the former Ajax coach replied. ‘This is a big challenge but, until now, everywhere I’ve been I’ve got the maximum out of my teams. This project is the most difficult, I realise that. I know it’s not an easy job. But I am here, so I am convinced I can do it.’

And what is the target for his first season? Ten Hag is too smart to talk about usurping Manchester City and Liverpool just yet. ‘The first target is to win every game. That has to be our approach at Man United.’

He was giving his first sit-down interview to the English media in an auditorium at AAMI Park — home to Melbourne Victory and rugby league’s Melbourne Storm — where United are training ahead of Tuesday’s friendly against Crystal Palace.

It sits alongside the iconic MCG and the Rod Laver Arena at the heart of this sports-mad city. Ten Hag is in his element here.

The 52-year-old has only been working with some of his new players for a couple of weeks, so he is making the most of the opportunity to make a big impression and hammer home the principles of his football philosophy.

There have been double training sessions in Bangkok and the less humid conditions of Australia’s mid-winter.

‘This is why we started them quite early,’ said Ten Hag. ‘Fitness but also I wanted to bring in a certain way of playing. It won’t be done when we finish pre-season, but when we finish pre-season we have to get results. We want to play proactive, attacking football where it’s possible. We want to play good but if we don’t play good we still have to win.

‘I have a strategy. It’s a process, it takes time. But in the end we have to make sure from the outset there is a winning team.’

The process Ten Hag talks about will not be smooth. After United’s lowest-ever Premier League points total last season they are now stuck in the Europa League. He has inherited a divided dressing room and gifted players such as Marcus Rashford whose confidence looked shot; a team that his predecessor Ralf Rangnick said needs ‘open heart surgery’.

The early signs are promising: 4-0 and 4-1 wins over an under-cooked Liverpool and Melbourne.

Jadon Sancho is beginning to look more like a £73million player and Anthony Martial has scored in both games. Ten Hag is working on their confidence and hopes the challenge of making the World Cup will be an incentive for the likes of Sancho, Martial and Rashford.

‘I think every player wants to be at the World Cup,’ he said. ‘The moment is not that often so the players will know that.

‘We are trying to bring the confidence back. You can see that it affects the players. Now we have to cheer them up and motivate them. That is one of the important points to get success: that you have self-belief as an individual and as a team.’

And discipline, of course. We’re back on that subject. Ten Hag will provide plenty of it but is happy for the players to police themselves too. ‘When you want to get results, you need a team,’ he said. ‘It is organisation, co-operation, and also you need discipline.

‘When there is no discipline (off the pitch), you will not find it on the pitch.

‘I’m quite severe on such issues. But I think it is on the players themselves to also be severe to each other, because if they want to achieve success they have to stick together.

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