Erik ten Hag may have dropped a hint of Manchester United’s renewed tactics

Tuesday marks the first official day of pre-season for Manchester United, with a number of questions yet to be answered.

A few have already been addressed. The most obvious is that Erik ten Hag is being allowed to remain in his Carrington office for the time being, while Mason Greenwood has returned for discussions about his future.

Jadon Sancho is expected to return to basics after his loan spell at Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund, despite his ongoing feud with Ten Hag. His future remains unclear, with the winger adamant not to apologise.

Meanwhile, United welcomed two new faces to their headquarters this week. Ruud van Nistelrooy was spotted at Carrington on Tuesday after MEN Sport recently reported that the Dutchman is deciding whether to take up the offer to coach United.

READ MORE: Ruud van Nistelrooy to unlock potential of two Manchester United players

READ MORE: New Manchester United managers Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake arrive

He was thrust into the lead at United’s grounds on Tuesday, along with fellow new arrival Rene Hake. The latter confirmed his imminent move to United last week, with the Go Ahead Eagles boss set to link up with close friend Ten Hag.

Both coaches are cut from the same cloth as Ten Hag when it comes to football philosophy, especially Hake. His preferred style of play mirrors that of Ajax’s Ten Hag, with pressing, possession and power the main engine.

Hake and Ten Hag previously worked together at FC Twente and have remained close allies ever since, with the United boss also an admirer of his counterpart’s work. “(At Twente) he was incredibly driven, ambitious, but also extremely confident. A coach who worked very methodically,” Ten Hag said last year.

Meanwhile, Van Nistelrooy arrives who also succeeded in the Eredivisie. He left his post at PSV Eindhoven in May 2023 due to frustrations with the club’s operations and subsequently received offers from Spain.

He admitted his admiration for a Spanish manager earlier this year, saying he wanted his teams to play like Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen. Speaking to AS, he added: “As a Dutchman, my philosophy is to have the ball and press hard to steal the ball from the opposition as soon as possible.

“But I’m not a fan of open-ended passing, preferring to go on the attack once I have the ball. For example, I like what Xabi Alonso is doing at Bayer Leverkusen. That’s the kind of football I like to play as a coach.”

United particularly struggled with the press last year as the club dispatched an incredible amount of shots on goal, often conceding more than 20 efforts. Their best results, including cup wins against Manchester City and Liverpool, have come as a result of limiting attack and countering.

Ten Hag’s side also struggled to break down low blocks against the lower tables and suffered defeats to Bournemouth, Fulham and Crystal Palace after failing to convert possession into goals.

Van Nistelrooy – who beat Arsenal during his managerial career – showed at PSV his desire to be more effective in attack and effective in winning the ball back. Increased focus on both would be a slight but much needed tweak to Ten Hag’s tactics at United to make them more successful in games.

The arrivals of both Van Nistelrooy and Hake come as little surprise given the Ten Hag’s own philosophy, but perhaps the manager believes both can deploy that extra boost to spark a return to Old Trafford.