Dutch legend Wim Kieft has claimed that Erik ten Hag is finished at Manchester United.
Kieft, the former Ajax and PSV Eindhoven striker who helped Holland win the Euros in 1988, believes a decision on Ten Hag’s future has already been taken. And the 62-year-old, who is now a respected TV pundit in his homeland, has insisted on the eve of the derby against Manchester City that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is right to sack the United manager.
Kit feels Ten Hag was not the coach responsible for Ajax’s return to Total Football - and that there has been something rotten at the heart of United for years.
Kieft said: “At Manchester United, the football is still not to be seen - and therefore I expect Ten Hag to be in his last year.
“The climate Ten Hag has to work in at United is completely different from City. At the neighbours, you see a certain atmosphere, there is a true football culture and everything looks like a team, even at the top of their organisation.
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“Txiki Begiristain is the technical director there and, as well as Pep Guardiola, he works with more former Barcelona people. United haven't had a ‘team’ like that for a long time. Something must be very wrong at that club.
“After all, (Jose) Mourinho and (Louis) Van Gaal were not managers with a small reputation - and they still failed.
“It is not that Erik invented the style of play at Ajax. Ajax had been playing that way for 50 years and he was lucky to have a great crop of youth players.”
It's been a difficult second season for Ten Hag in Manchester (PA)United travel to the Etihad with their season in the balance - and Ratcliffe has a decision to make on Ten Hag’s future after paying £1.3billion for a 27.7 percent stake in the club. Kieft, however, believes it is clear that the Dutchman has not made the most of the resources given to him in his 18 months in Manchester.
Kieft also played for Pisa, Torino and Bordeaux during a club career that reached its peak when he helped PSV to become European champions in 1988. Writing in his regular column for Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, he claimed: “For Ten Hag it will be a monstrous job to contain Manchester City in the derby on Sunday.
“He and Guardiola have spent roughly the same on new players in the past two seasons. Both totalled more than €400million (£340m) - and Ten Hag still failed to get his style of play in at United.
“What I love about Guardiola is that you see his football vision translated very quickly on the pitch at every club he has served. Whether it's Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Manchester City, he gets the football he stands for in there very quickly.
“Of course at all his clubs, Guardiola has also been helped by a lot of money. It's nice when you can bring in exactly the players you want for your ideas. At the same time, he enforces that himself, because there are more clubs that can pay top salaries. Players really want to play for him.”
Kieft is a huge fan of Guardiola, who he says players 'want to play for' (PA)Kieft added: “If, as a player, you can choose between a team that becomes structural champions, like Manchester City, or a club that has to fight to win a Champions League ticket, like Manchester United, it is not so difficult.
““What is also crucial is that with managers with a slightly lesser reputation, clubs do not want to listen only to the manager. You see that with PSG, there is money in abundance but they have never been able to develop a style of play there and they never win anything European-wise
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“Guardiola's style of play is very impressive and it is wonderful to see that people who had the opportunity to work with him for a long time choose that same vision and style.
“(Mikel) Arteta was his assistant for a long time and look at Arsenal, surely a lot of Guardiola's football is in there.”
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