Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is planning to use an ‘uncomfortable’ cage at the club’s Carrington training complex, according to reports. The 52-year-old will take over from Ralf Rangnick after Sunday’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace. And plenty of work is required if the Red Devils are to reel in the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City going forward.
Manchester United have endured a torrid season, with the club suffering under both Rangnick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ten Hag will be the new manager of the Red Devils after the 52-year-old beat Mauricio Pochettino to the post, with the Dutchman poised to attend today’s Premier League showdown with Crystal Palace.
And The Sun say he’s planning to make changes to the club’s Carrington training complex.
Ten Hag has already handed staff members details of what he wants in place for when he starts working with the players.
It’s claimed that includes preparing a five-a-side pitch, with the former Ajax boss set to use ‘cage work’.
That’s when players are put through a session in a confined space.
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And he also wants some of the half-sized pitches to be redrawn in order to replicate the ones he’s worked on at Ajax.
Ten Hag wants United stars to feel ‘uncomfortable’ in the cage when they first start working in there, with an insider quoted as saying: “The new manager has already provided a number of technical requests and the staff are working hard to have it ready.
“The astro five-a-side pitch is named the Adidas Predator Zone and the lads use it for fun and games – but Ten Hag has daily plans for it.
“He wants the players locked in and uncomfortable until they are totally at ease with it.
“The pitch is caged in and he wants it ready to go.
“The club is determined to give him everything he needs and it is currently all hands to the pump at Carrington.”
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United will be hoping Ten Hag’s coaching work can help them improve after a chastening campaign.
Hopes were high at the beginning of the season, when they forked out for the likes of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo.
United won three of their first four matches with Solskjaer at the helm.
But, ever since, things have gone from bad to worse.
The Red Devils are poised to end the campaign with their lowest-ever Premier League points total, having won just 16 of their 37 matches.
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And they need to beat Palace to ensure they’re playing in the UEFA Conference League, rather than the Europa League.
United won 1-0 against the Eagles earlier in the season, with Fred scoring a stunner from the edge of the box.
Yet whether they can give Rangnick a good send-off ultimately remains to be seen.
Speaking ahead of United’s match with Palace, the German insisted it doesn’t have to take long to climb back up to the top of the English game.
“Yes, I strongly believe that and I know that from my own experience,” he said when asked if United can bounce back quickly.
“I developed teams from level four to Champions League and level three to Champions League.
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“This is obviously different here because United are already in the Premier League and we are a club with high expectations with a big tradition of being successful.
“But you can only find what you need if you know what you are looking for and you need to know that in advance.
“This also depends on how Erik wants to play? If you saw Ajax or his U-23 team at Bayern Munich play then it’s pretty obvious how that will be.
“And for me it’s also clear what kind of players he needs to help him to be successful.
“There will be changes, players will be leaving because their contracts have expired so there will be space for new players.”
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