Erik ten Hag finally has a functional footballing department to support his role at Manchester United.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos wasted no time making big changes to the hierarchy and structure of Manchester United after their minority takeover deal was completed in December.
They started at the very top and appointed former Manchester City chief Omar Berrada as the club’s new CEO.
Ineos then headhunted Dan Ashworth from Newcastle United as the sporting director – a role that was never even considered by the Glazers during their ownership.
Just below Dan Ashworth in the hierarchy is the highly-rated Jason Wilcox, who was appointed as technical director after doing an impressive job at Southampton.
Alongside Ashworth and Jason Wilcox, Ineos also decided to keep Christopher Vivell as the director of recruitment after a successful summer transfer window.
In a matter of months, Ineos have done what the Glazers failed to by implementing a proper football structure to support Erik ten Hag in his managerial role.
Erik ten Hag meets with Man United chiefs everyday
Make no mistake, Ten Hag is still under huge pressure as Manchester United manager despite being handed a contract extension by Ineos after the FA Cup win.
He is still very much being assessed by Ineos and the poor start to the season has not helped matters.
However, there have been signs of promise and progress this season, and it helps that Ten Hag finally has a functional structure behind him thanks to Ineos.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Ten Hag revealed that he speaks every day with Ashworth and Wilcox.
After being asked how often he meets with the club’s leadership, Ten Hag replied: “Every day.
“Every day I am talking with the sporting director [Ashworth] and the technical director [Wilcox], so we have very short connections.”
Erik ten Hag was hung out to dry by Glazers
With Ten Hag now in daily communication with the new hierarchy at Old Trafford, it makes you wonder how much support and assistance he was receiving before the takeover.
It was blindingly clear that the Glazers had no intention of modernising Manchester United. Their boardroom structure was designed to maximise revenue and profit, but not to help the manager achieve results.
There has been a complete reversal of that philosophy under Ratcliffe and Ineos, who have already implemented a proper structure and have also shown ambition with their training ground and stadium plans.
They are still in the process of deciding whether to renovate Old Trafford or build a new state-of-the-art 100,000-seater stadium. Regardless of what they choose, it is already more investment than the Glazers made.
In order to focus solely on results and improving the squad, managers need a helping hand behind the scenes to make sure everything else is running smoothly. That didn’t exist under the Glazers and it proves that Ten Hag was hung out to dry.
Not only Ten Hag, but every other manager since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure faced the same problems.
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