Erik ten Hag threatens to walk out of interview as Ajax introduce Man Utd ban

Erik ten Hag threatened to walk out of an interview on Saturday evening after being questioned about the Manchester United job.

The Ajax boss is set to be confirmed as the next United manager in the coming weeks, once his backroom team is assembled. Interim manager Ralf Rangnick will remain in charge until the end of the season before starting a two-year consultancy gig.

English press were banned from attending Ten Hag's post-match press conference on Saturday evening in the hope of avoiding unwanted questions about the United job. Ajax defeated Sparta Rotterdam 2-1 thanks to goals from Davy Klaassen and Dusan Tadic.

Despite the ban, Ten Hag was still questioned about his future. "I want to talk about the game," said the Ajax boss when asked. "I am not reacting to rumours... [ask me] questions about the game or I am going inside."

Ten Hag wants to avoid any unnecessary distractions, as Ajax are competing for a league and cup double. They're currently seven points clear of PSV in second having played a game more. They will face the same opponent in the Dutch Cup final on April 17.

Ajax's press ban was revealed by Sky Sports News reporter Gary Cotterill, who was in Amsterdam to question Ten Hag. "As Ten Hag was preparing his team to face Sparta Rotterdam, the media team were busily rejecting the applications from the English media to attend the post-match news conference," said Cotterill.

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"There will be no radio, no newspapers, no Sky Sports News. They don't want him asked, in English, about Manchester United. His English isn't that great, either. Ajax say he needs to concentrate on winning another title. It's by no means a given - they're only four points ahead with six games to play [now seven points]."

United have been looking for their next permanent manager since sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last November. Other names in the frame including Paris Saint-Germain's Mauricio Pochettino, Spain's Luis Enrique and Sevilla's Julen Lopetegui.

The cost of releasing Ten Hag from his Ajax contract is thought to be just £1.6million. The 52-year-old, who worked with Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, has been in charge of the Dutch giants since December 2017 - winning two league titles and two cups.

"Everyone knows each other in the industry," Ten Hag told German outlet Sport1 when asked about the United job earlier this month. "There are always talks with representatives from other clubs, that's normal. Man Utd is a great club with great fans.

"But I can only repeat myself: My full focus is completely on Ajax! We are already planning for the new season... but in football you never know. I don't want to rule anything out. I'm currently employed here at Ajax to perform.

"With the cup final against [PSV] Eindhoven, we still have eight finals left, and I need all my energy for that. Anything else would just be a distraction. I know that in football everything can change from one day to the next. If at some point I should decide to take the next step, I hope that people here will understand."