Netherlands international boss Louis van Gaal has been discussing Erik ten Hag’s future as Manchester United manager.
Van Gaal previously caused a stir before Ten Hag took the job, when he warned him off it.
Based on his own experience at Old Trafford from 2014 to 2016.
Van Gaal had described United as a ‘commercial club’ and not a football club.
Ten Hag addressed this at his opening press conference, saying assesses the situation and draws his own line and was not put off joining the Red Devils.
Woodward exit could make the difference
After Ten Hag chose to join United, we looked at five key factors which influenced his decision, and one was a shake-up behind the scenes over the past 12 months.
Louis van Gaal agrees, speaking to a press conference in the Netherlands ahead of their upcoming international clash, when the topic of Ten Hag was brought up.
Van Gaal feels Woodward’s exit could be a decisively positive factor for Ten Hag’s chances of success at Old Trafford.
He told Voetball International: “There is now a new leadership, it was Woodward and now it is Richard Arnold.
“And that can make the difference, so we have to wait and see.
“He (Ten Hag) has a lot of confidence, so who is I to say something about that.”
Van Gaal has made clear on numerous occasions he thinks very little of Ed Woodward, and told BBC Sport he was angry at the way he was fired in 2016.
He said in the same interview: “Unfortunately, we are talking about a commercial club, not a football club. I spoke to Ferguson about this and in his last years, he also had problems with it.”
United’s recruitment under Van Gaal was a mess, with the manager not being able to sign his top targets, several of who have gone onto be big successes elsewhere.
Woodward’s exit is a huge bonus for United, Van Gaal is right. Richard Arnold still has everything to prove too.
But he is not as actively involved, delegating to football director John Murtough.
The new structure is one Ten Hag is evidently happy with, and hopefully, he can go on to achieve success with United, who have failed to win the FA Cup since Van Gaal won it in 2016.
