Dutch Coach Turns Down Erik ten Hag’s Offer To Join Manchester United

Incoming Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s task of bringing back the glory days to the Theatre of Dreams appears to get more difficult with every performance from the club’s fallen stars under interim man in charge Ralf Rangnick.

The latest thrashing from Brighton and Hove Albion once again highlighted that there’s a seismic void of quality, structure, and character in the United squad.

In order to bring about major improvements at his new club, the Dutchman will not only need the full backing of United’s hierarchy, but also a top class backroom staff, which is yet to be finalised by the Premier League giants.

Ajax No 2 Mitchell Van der Gaag is expected to follow Ten Hag to England, but there’s still uncertainty regarding other assistants.

Dutch coach Fred Rutten has revealed that he turned down the opportunity to join Ten Hag’s backroom staff at United.

“Erik ten Hag has asked me to be his assistant at Manchester United, I said no,” Rutten told Dutch TV. “Everyone makes his own choices in life. I have a family, I have grandchildren that I want to see. This type of project, I felt uncomfortable with it.”

Rutten is instead set to become Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s assistant at PSV. The former United striker has signed a contract until 2025 to become the Dutch outfit’s head coach and will replace Roger Schmidt at the end of the season.

Steve McClaren and Robin van Persie’s names have also been discussed to form part of Ten Hag’s coaching setup at Old Trafford, but so far no deal has been finalised with either coach.