Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has admitted that his current team “will never play” the same brand of football that he adopted at Ajax.

During his time with the Dutch giants, his side were known for an expansive, attacking style, but ten Hag says the different personnel that he has at his disposal in his United squad means he will play more direct:

“Never. We will never play that football. Because those were different players. This is also not why I came here. We are playing different football than I showed at Ajax because I have to because I can’t play the same way.”

“The players decide how you play. Ajax has a very typical and characteristic style of play, with Manchester United I will always show different football, I did so last year as well. We play much more direct football here because I have the players for that here.”

The change in style has not proven to be successful

Although a 3rd place finish and a domestic cup was seen as a decent first season at United, ten Hag hadn’t fully implemented his ideas, and many fans were hoping that his second year in charge would see more progress being made.

When he was appointed in 2022, it was hoped that ten Hag would transfer to United the playing philosophy that brought him so much success at Ajax. However, the manager has, instead gone down a different route.

Against Manchester City at the weekend, they played counter-attacking football with the onus on long balls. The strategy ultimately failed as their rivals came out comfortable 3-0 winners.

What does the future hold for ten Hag at United?

5 defeats from the first 10 league fixtures is the worst start that the club has made to a season in nearly 40 years, but there is no sign that the United board will dispense with the services of their manager currently.

With matches coming up against the likes of Fulham, Luton and Everton over the next month, ten Hag will be looking to pick up some much-needed points to get his team’s campaign back on track.