Steve McClaren names Man Utd boss target who reminds him of Sir Alex Ferguson
Steve McClaren believes Ajax boss Erik ten Hag’s meticulous planning is very similar to that of legendary Manchester United chief Sir Alex Ferguson and insists the Red Devils’ managerial target is ‘ready’ for a top job in Europe.
Ten Hag has emerged as one of the frontrunners to take over from interim United coach Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season, having reportedly impressed United chiefs during initial talks last week.
The 52-year-old has won multiple domestic trophies since taking over at Ajax in 2017 and, at this stage, appears to lead the way ahead of PSG’s Mauricio Pochettino for the soon-to-be vacant United post.
German Rangnick will step down this summer and move to a consultancy role. In that position, he is expected to play a major part in the decision as to who will replace him.
McClaren, who acted as Alex Ferguson’s assistant in the early 2000s, worked with Ten Hag at FC Twente. And he views the Dutchman as ‘very disciplined and outstanding tactically’.
“His great strength lies not just in his attention to detail and organisation,” McClaren told the Daily Telegraph. “He has a clear philosophy of how he wants to play football; the environment he wants to create.
“The player progression programme was a key part of Twente. He has done that at Ajax too, for each player from the academy to the first team.
“You look at Hakim Ziyech and now the [Brazilian] striker Antony, a very good player who will be the next one to go. I have seen this Ajax team and it’s very good.
Ten Hag an outstanding tactician
“Erik is very disciplined and people have to buy into that and have that work ethic. Tactically he’s outstanding.
“He worked with Pep [Guardiola] at Bayern Munich and took in his philosophy too. They called him ‘Mini Pep’ out there.
“He’s ready. A lot of top clubs in Germany and England will be out to get him.”
As for Ten Hag’s meticulous attention to detail, McClaren added: “The only other one I would have seen do that? That would have been the gaffer [Alex Ferguson].”
United are back in action this weekend when they face Leicester in the race for the top four.
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