Mitchell van der Gaag explains INEOS’ position on Erik ten Hag after leaving Manchester United

Former Manchester United coach Mitchell van der Gaag has issued his honest thoughts on INEOS and their relationship with Erik ten Hag.

Manchester United’s summer saw a host of changes at the club. Five new players, Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, and Manuel Ugarte, joined the club, and 14 others departed.

Beyond this, Erik ten Hag‘s backroom staff also underwent changes. Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Rene Hake, Andreas Georgson, and Jelle ten Rouwelaar replaced Mitchell van der Gaag, Benni McCarthy, and Steve McClaren.

Read More: Aaron Ramsey’s honest thoughts on INEOS are a huge boost to Manchester United fans

The changes in coaches has been apparent, with Van Nistelrooy, in particular,, showing himself to be an animated character on the touchline during his opening months back at Old Trafford.

Van der Gaag, who was Ten Hag’s assistant coach at Ajax and played the same role for the Dutchman’s first two seasons at United, has now revealed why he chose to leave Old Trafford.

Why Van der Gaag left

“What happened? Well, not so much. My ambition is to become a head coach again, after first being an assistant at Ajax and then at Manchester United. It’s great to be an assistant, but at a certain point you also have to follow your ambitions again,” he told Dutch outlet NOS.

“Those were two great years, because you really work at the top. And I’m not just talking about United, but also the entire competition,” Van der Gaag explained further.

“Normally you see the Premier League on television, now I was in the middle of it. If you look at the tactical variation, to use a coaching term: it is top in the Premier League. It was enjoyable.”

Since leaving United in the summer, Van der Gaag has yet to find a new opportunity as a manager.

Honest opinion of INEOS

All these changes at the club were made under the watchful eye of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS team, and the Dutch coach had his say on United’s leadership team.

“You see with Ineos that they are in line with Ten Hag and dare to look ahead. But in that whole process you do need results. In that respect, it is nice that you enjoyed this last weekend Brentford wins,” he added.

When NOS asked Van der Gaag whether Ten Hag can help Manchester United to ‘get back on track’, he said: “If it was an easy job, everyone could be there. Since the departure of Alex Ferguson, there have been ups and downs.

“The great thing about Erik is he always keeps looking ahead and moving forward. You can’t control the rest.”

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Wednesday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.