Manchester United and Liverpool, two of the most iconic clubs in English football, are set to face off this Sunday. The match will not only be a clash between arch-rivals but also a meeting of two Dutch managers - Erik ten Hag of Manchester United and Arne Slot of Liverpool. However, according to Ten Hag, his job at Old Trafford is far more challenging than that of his compatriot at Anfield.
Erik ten Hag believes he has a tougher task on his hands compared to Arne Slot. Despite being two years into his tenure as manager for Manchester United while Slot has only been at the helm for two months in Liverpool, Ten Hag feels he faces greater challenges.
Last season saw Manchester United finish eighth in Premier League table amidst chronic injuries while Jurgen Klopp led Liverpool to third place and League Cup success before handing over the reins to Slot. This stark contrast in performance sets up an interesting dynamic between the Dutch managers.
Changes within Manchester United
This summer brought significant changes within Manchester United executive team as part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's overhaul strategy for the club. New appointments include sporting director Dan Ashworth, CEO Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox.
However, despite these changes and having already spent £600m during his tenure, Ten Hag admits that establishing a defined style for Man Utd remains an ongoing challenge. He claimed he inherited a “no good culture” which he is still trying hard to turn around so that they can once again contend for major titles.
Erik ten Hag, Manchester United manager, said:
“That was one of the reasons I wanted to come here - to have this challenge, I knew beforehand that this was the most difficult thing I would ever do in my life, to come into a club where there were a lot of problems which we had to solve. I inherited a history from six years of no trophies, that meant the dressing-room and the qualities were not right. So we had to build, we had to construct, to perform and to bring up a higher level. We did this with transfers, but we also did it by bringing academy players into the team.
"What you see now is that we have brought new players in, many young players, and we are in a lifecycle from the start. We are still in the transition stage, we have young players and now we have to construct a team from it for the future. I'm not here to talk for him [Slot]. But Liverpool, it's clear, they are in a different phase of the lifecycle. They have a team that is mature, players who have been playing for a long time together and who are very experienced. We have much more of a mix and have to build a new team. Liverpool is a team where the structures are really clear, the players, the partnerships, the relationships in that team are very clear and that is what he inherited, that has been built over the past years. So things are still the same, but I have also seen some things that he already brought in."
The advantageous position of Arne Slot
On the other hand, when Arne Slot took over as manager at Anfield from Jurgen Klopp this summer, there was already an established football leadership structure in place along with a clear playing philosophy and identity – something which Ten Hag is still striving to achieve at Old Trafford.
Moreover, Slot inherited a team that had been strengthened by Klopp in his final summer transfer window. The signings of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo have all been bequeathed to Slot, giving him a solid foundation to build upon.
While both managers face their own unique challenges and pressures associated with managing such high-profile clubs, it's clear that Erik ten Hag believes his task at Manchester United is more daunting than Arne Slot's role at Liverpool. As the two teams prepare for their upcoming Manchester United vs Liverpool clash this Sunday, it will be interesting to see how these managerial differences play out on the pitch.
