Erik ten Hag has opened up on speculation linking him with Manchester United as the Red Devils continue to explore their managerial options. It’s been a nightmare campaign for the Premier League side, who have toiled under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick. And the Dutchman is presently the frontrunner to take over at the end of the season.
Manchester United sacked Solskjaer back in November, less than 24 hours after his team had been emphatically beaten by Watford at Vicarage Road.
And Ten Hag is now the frontrunner to take over from the 49-year-old permanently, especially after he recently conducted an interview with the club.
United, for their part, are keeping their options open with the Red Devils also understood to admire the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Julen Lopetegui and Luis Enrique behind the scenes.
And Ten Hag has now broken his silence, insisting links with big clubs are normal while also suggesting he’d be open to leaving Ajax behind.
“My focus is currently only on Ajax. But in football you never know,” he told Sport1.
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He added: “We simply have very good training for young people and can always bring up talent.
“Sometimes I also ask myself: where does he come from now? The quality that follows is enormous.
“It’s about developing the many talents. I managed to do that together with my coaching team.
“I can only speak for us: We have an idea and philosophy here in Amsterdam and that is passed on to the young players from an early age.
“The concept runs systematically through the club.”
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Ten Hag also opened up on the way he’s been managing Ajax over the past five years, while also insisting he’s determined to win trophies before the end of the campaign.
“In the end it was a lack of attention that hit us hard,” he said referring to their recent Champions League exit to Benfica.
“We have to live with it now, but pull ourselves together and look ahead. We have nice tasks ahead of us because we can still win two titles.
“My team has become more variable and dynamic. We’ve lost a few important games and suffered setbacks in recent years.
“As a coach, I had to keep building the team. But you can’t compare the teams of the last few years with today’s.”
And, when quizzed on speculation surrounding Ajax players such as Ryan Gravenberch and Antony, he made it clear he was undeterred by rumours.
“No! I know that my players’ attention is only on Ajax,” he said when quizzed if he was annoyed by rumours.
“The boys know what they are playing for.
“But logically, if you are ambitious, you would of course want to take the next step in the Bundesliga, Premier League or La Liga at some point.
“I always tell the guys to take care of it after the season. Until then, Ajax will have full attention.”
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