Following his first trophy as Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag has penned a heartfelt and inspiring open letter to the club’s fans.
The Dutchman led United to their first trophy in six years by winning the Carabao Cup on Sunday evening, one of the last pieces of silverware they won back in 2017, with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle.
More importantly, the 53-year-old has well and truly won over the Old Trafford faithful not only with his results but his style of football, man management and overall attitude when it comes to the job.
Writing his letter on Monday morning, not even 24 hours after having lifted the League Cup, ten Hag took to thanking the fans for their support both inside Wembley and around the world, but also making it clear that this is just the beginning.
He began by stating: “When I arrived at the club, we spoke about the challenge and importance of reuniting this group of players with our amazing fans.
“Believe me, this squad knows exactly how important you are. The bond between the supporters and the team is there for everyone to see and what we experienced together yesterday will only further strengthen that bond.
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“The atmosphere generated by those of you at Wembley was incredible. From the first minute until the last you were there with us, driving the team on, supporting and encouraging them to get over the line to bring the trophy back to Manchester.”
He also made sure to recognise the countless fans who couldn’t get a ticket for the final, adding: “For those of you who couldn’t be there, we felt your support before, during and after the game. Know that each and every one of you will always play your part in this team being successful.”
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Speaking to the media after the game, it was apparent that the former Ajax man felt that bond and connection with the fans from minute one, declaring, “I just love United… this is the right club for me — I want to be part of it.” If that doesn’t get you, we’re not sure anything will.
He went on to state how proud he is of his “players and staff for their preparation and performances, noting that the final showed both him and the fans “the required desire, spirit and determination that we must demand of everyone who represents Manchester United.”
Insisting that the team continue to set themselves the highest of standards day in, day out, he said the group “know the importance of silverware throughout the history of this great club” and while they were happy to win their first trophy together, they are “by no means satisfied and will not stop here.”
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“Together we have experienced the feeling of what it means to win together for Manchester United. It is truly magnificent and will only make each of us hungrier for more success.
“This group has made great strides in the last few months but there is still a lot more to come. I can assure you that everyone at Carrington will be working constantly because we know that this club and you, our supporters, deserve more great days like this.
Putting that first piece of silverware behind him already, ten Hag concluded his open letter by assuring United supporters that the club’s main goal now is to stay focused and keep pushing.
“We will go back to work today, with [the] full focus now on preparing to face West Ham in the FA Cup on Wednesday evening. There will be no complacency in our desire to return this club back to where we want to be.
“Please know that you are vital to what we want to achieve and take yesterday as proof of what can happen when we are all United together. Thank you for your support and dedication”.
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We have a feeling ten Hag and United are going to have a very long and successful love affair.
The player celebrations from Stockport County’s League Two trophy presentation are glorious
Danny Jones
If you’re a Stockport County fan, you’ve had a very good year as the Hatters have just been crowned League Two champions and will be back in the English third tier next season – safe to say they’ve been making most of the trophy celebrations.
Players and staff very much included.
Edgeley was filled with flares and even people climbing on rooftops when they officially secured promotion back to League One for the first time in 12 years – the second time they’ve managed to go up in three seasons – and there was a great attendance in Stockport town centre for the bus parade.
But it was last week’s trophy presentation back at the stadium that produced some of the most memorable scenes, with County topping off a season of impressive and often high-scoring performances on the pitch with plenty more pageantry. Cue the music.
We still haven’t stopped laughing at Kyle Knoyle.
From bringing Isaac Olaofe’s ‘Tanto’s on fire!’ chant to life to hammering home puns on names like Fraser Horsfall, no matter how obvious, these are the kind of deeply unserious celebrations we expect from a trophy presentation.
County fan or not, you’ve got to admit it looks like a good party.
It’s moments like these that players, fans and staff work hard all season for; to prat around like muppets in front of their adoring supporters. They even got assistant coach, Clint Hill, in the mix and, as it turns out, he proved to be one of the biggest ring-leaders.
We sincerely hope the Hatters keep trickling out more of these party scenes as we know there’s plenty more that fans would love to watch back.
We’re still yet to see captain Paddy Madden, who won Player of the Month for April, and the gaffer himself, Dave Challinor, who has comfortably secured his legacy as one of the club’s all-time greats.
Challinor and the club have made no secret of seriously eyeing up the Championship and who knows what else at County’s momentum continues to build, especially with a huge stadium redevelopment kicking off soon.
What do you reckon, Hatters – do you reckon a third promotion could be on the cards?
Erik ten Hag opens up on Man United’s failed Harry Kane and Frenkie de Jong transfers
Danny Jones
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has shed more light on his club’s failure to sign two key transfer targets in previous transfer windows, Harry Kane and Frenkie de Jong.
With Man United‘s interest in the proven Premier League star and England captain along with the former Ajax star turned Barcelona midfielder having been widely publicised last year, it was no secret that they were top of the wish list at Old Trafford but nothing concrete ever came of it.
Now, addressing the Kane and de Jong transfers directly for the first time, ten Hag not only admitted that he wanted to sign them but that he wasn’t given the full backing of the board to do so, suggesting that his squad therefore missed out two key talents that he hoped to build the playing style around.
Speaking to club legend Gary Neville in a Sky Sports exclusive, the 54-year-old was careful not to outwardly criticise the previous executives – the majority of whom have now departed – but confessed that they weren’t able to get either deal across the line.
As you can see, ten Hag revealed that he quickly identified Kane as the ‘proven’ striker who could have brought “30 goals” to the team but that they simply couldn’t get him, presumably down to the potential transfer fee and wage expectations.
The 30-year-old striker obviously went on to sign for German giants Bayern Munich and has now broken the record for the most goals in a debut Bundesliga season, not mention being on the verge of surpassing the highest-ever tally in a single campaign, held by Robert Lewandowski (41).
He went on to express that he has every faith in the striker they did manage to sign, insisting that 21-year-old Rasmus Højlund “will get there [to that level] but needs time” and was offered some of “the biggest potential” on the market when they snapped him up.
As for his fellow Dutchman, de Jong – who he previously coached as part of the hugely talented Ajax which impressed so many in 2018/19 – ten Hag hinted at the failure to sign him as being a key factor in why he couldn’t implement his tactics at United, telling Neville: “you have to bring in [the right] players”.
The three-time Eredivisie winner went on to explain, “You need the player with those typical assets and you can’t bring a player, say, here who has a [certain] style of play I don’t want to change his nature.”
With Neville naming de Jong specifically, ten Hag confirmed the name by adding that he envisioned a partnership between him and Casemiro or, indeed, Kobbie Mainoo eventually, adding: “They would have been really complimentary with each other, absolutely. That is the [type of player you need] if you want to play the Ajax style.
However, despite having reportedly agreed on a sizeable fee with Barcelona (the number of which has been much disputed), it came to be that de Jong seemingly didn’t want the move and preferred to stay with the Catalan club.
As a result, this meant that United had to continue experimenting with different midfield combinations and signing alternatives like Christian Eriksen and Mason Mount, who perhaps weren’t as high up on the list of transfer targets or as well suited to ten Hag’s desired approach on the pitch.
ten Hag ultimately went on to add that a laundry list of injury problems this season has also derailed the progress of his squad as a unit, with the Red Devils having been forced to utilise 31 different back-four combinations so far.
There have been some rumblings that de Jong could be open to another potential move elsewhere again this summer, but it’s fair to say that even if they were in the running it will take more than one player to get his side back on track.
You can watch the interview with Gary Neville in full HERE.
It remains to be seen how well ten Hag will be backed by the new footballing administration this summer but it is said United are willing to consider serious offers for several members of their first-team squad as they look to raise funds for any prospective incomings.