Former Manchester United assistant manager Mitchell van der Gaag has now broken his silence over one unusual part of Erik ten Hag’s reign at Old Trafford.
Mitchell van der Gaag worked with Erik ten Hag at Ajax before the ex-Manchester United assistant head coach linked up with him again at the Red Devils.
Ten Hag brought Van der Gaag into his United coaching staff after he left Dutch side Ajax and permanently succeeded Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the Old Trafford dugout.
Steve McClaren also linked up with ex-United manager Ten Hag at the Premier League club and was assistant manager alongside Van der Gaag at Old Trafford.
Van der Gaag was alongside Ten Hag for the 55-year-old Dutchman’s first two seasons at Old Trafford before he left the Red Devils ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The FC Zurich manager had his contract with United terminated in 2024 and Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake were brought in as assistant managers to Ten Hag.
Mitchell van der Gaag reveals the ‘only disappointment’ from his time as Man Utd assistant manager under Erik ten Hag
Mitchell van der Gaag enjoyed a successful first season at Old Trafford with Bayer Leverkusen head coach Erik ten Hag, who arrived from Dutch side Ajax in 2022.
Manchester United finished third in the Premier League under Ten Hag in the 2022-23 campaign and the Red Devils also captured the League Cup in the season.
The Red Devils also made it to the knockout stages of the Europa League and United were ultimately dumped out of the competition by Sevilla in the quarter-finals.
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Van der Gaag has insisted that the Europa League was the only “disappointment” that he had from Ten Hag’s first season in charge at United.
“I look back on my time at Manchester United positively,” he said.
“I think it was two wonderful years. They were very positive and I learned a lot. The first year was very positive because we finished in third place, won the Carabao Cup and went to the FA Cup final.
“I think the only disappointment, in my opinion, was that we could have been better in the Europa League.
“But I think the first year was very positive, so everyone expected that we could improve in the second season.”
Mitchell van der Gaag still has no answer to the unusual period of Erik ten Hag’s reign as Man Utd manager
Ten Hag’s second season at Old Trafford was filled with both high and low points, with the Red Devils falling to an eighth-place finish in the league table.
But the Bayer Leverkusen boss avenged the Red Devils’ 2023 FA Cup final defeat by leading United to a sensational 2-1 win over Manchester City at Wembley in 2024.
Van der Gaag admitted that it was “very strange” to see how United performed in the 2023-24 season and the results under Ten Hag showed that in the campaign.
“That was a very strange season [2023-24],” he added.
“We were not good enough in the Premier League or Champions League. There were very strange results as well because there were games we were winning comfortably and then drawing or losing.
“But, in the end, we won the FA Cup. It puts everything in a positive way, so that was important.
“They were two years when I learned a lot, especially about the way the Premier League functions, the way football is played and the tactical variations.
“It was something that I really enjoyed.”
Ten Hag’s reign as United manager ended last October after he was sacked and the former Ajax head coach’s exit paved the arrival of Ruben Amorim from Sporting CP.
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