Ten Hag's former star warns Man Utd players over "highly demanding" culture

Manchester United have been warned to expect drastic changes from "highly demanding" Erik ten Hag ahead of his eagerly anticipated arrival at Old Trafford.

The 52-year-old has verbally agreed terms on a four-year contract with the Red Devils to take over as their new head coach from next season. He will succeed interim boss Ralf Rangnick, who will move into a consultancy role as part of organisational changes at the club.

With an announcement confirming the Ajax coach as their next manager expected in the coming days, Man United are hoping to turn around their fortunes after going five seasons without a trophy. It is believed that with the Dutchman's appointment, United are hoping to follow Liverpool and Manchester City's long-term plan to change the entire culture at the club following the success of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola respectively, and on the training ground at least, there are some similarities between the trio.

Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football, FC Utrecht captain Willem Janssen — who worked under Ten Hag for two-and-a-half years between 2015 and 2018 — has lifted the lid on what life was like working under the highly-rated head coach, revealing how Ten Hag's high demands and incessant desire to improve the team triggered a significant change in culture at the club.

"He's very professional, he's highly demanding. He demands everything from a player. He creates a winning environment, every detail is key," Janssen explained. "When he came to Utrecht, the mentality changed. It needed some time, three or four months, before the mentality of all the club and the players changed a lot because of him.

"He taught us to be more professional, more active, more concerned about your own development and the team's development. In a way, he was a very complete manager. Also, he expressed his ideas about his football clearly for us as players and it was a very high level. After his arrival, the results improved, we finished fifth, fourth and fifth. For the club, it was a very successful period."

Have Your Say! Will Erik ten Hag bring success to Manchester United? Comment below.

Whether he will be able to implement such changes at Carrington is another matter, given the United players' tendency to voice their unhappiness when training methods are not to their liking. But with a long-term contract on the table, United clearly believe Ten Hag is the right man to enact major changes at the club.

He has been likened to Guardiola for his focus on creating a brand of attractive, possession-based football and introducing complex theories about the game to his players. On his first day at training with Utrecht after being hired in 2015, he introduced the concept of half spaces — using horizontal and vertical lines 30 yards from goal — and Janssen admits the demonstration left he and his team-mates feeling slightly confused.

"What was completely new for us was in the first training when he arrived, there were more lines on the pitch. Nowadays it's more common, but we had the two boxes, the middle line and sidelines," he added. "Then he had some vertical lines from the box to the other box that went the length of the pitch and horizontal.

"There were many more lines and everyone was asking: "Eh? What's this?" And then he talked about half spaces, to learn how to be more compact as a team. It was a moment where we didn't know what was going on, but he explained and we used it a lot in training sessions. [It was] completely different from before."

After developing a close relationship with Ten Hag at Utrecht, Janssen watched his mentor move on to Ajax in January 2018 to replace Marcel Keizer. He has gone on to win two league titles and looks set to add to his trophy collection this season, with Ajax currently top of the Eredivisie.

And the 35-year-old star— who will move into a sporting director role with VVV Venlo when he retires at the end of the season — believes Ten Hag is ready for his next chapter at Old Trafford following his stint with Ajax.

"I think so. He did an excellent job with Ajax, he reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and won the league two times. I think four years is quite a long time as a manager in a top team and I think he deserves to make another big step abroad," he said.

"It's a big league and a top team. I can imagine it's the right moment for them [United]. In a way, it's also good for Ajax because there's a new coach, new energy and also for the club for the players to refresh. But for him, it's an exciting new journey.

"From next year on, if he makes the move to Man United, I'm really curious to see what he can do there and if he change their way of playing. Hopefully, he can get them playing the way he had Ajax playing. It would be nice to watch, and I will be watching with more interest if he takes the job. It would be really nice if it happens."