'They were not happy' - Erik ten Hag defends Manchester United coaching changes after €100,000 deal

Erik ten Hag has defended the decision to refresh the Manchester United coaching department as well as his preference for Dutch members of staff.

United have overhauled their backroom staff in the summer with the appointment of assistants René Hake and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who replaced Mitchell van der Gaag and Benni McCarthy. Jelle ten Rouwelaar has also been appointed as the new first-team goalkeeping coach, replacing Richard Hartis.

Ten Hag says the decision to replace Van der Gaag was straightforward given he wanted to become a head coach himself, while he also defended the decision to bring in three Dutch members of staff.

"If you want to get better, you have to innovate. We looked closely at that yes. But when it comes to Mitchell van der Gaag, for example, with whom I worked fantastically, it was something else. He wanted to become head coach again. Then that's the time to break up," he told AD. "I look at quality. This is the Premier League. Not only in the composition of your player group do you look at the absolute top, that also applies to the coaches, specialists and staff members. In it you can see in almost the entire English top that managers surround themselves with international toppers, often people with whom they have a trust relationship, or who they already know.

"At Liverpool that was no different under Jürgen Klopp and now under Arne Slot. But you see it everywhere. At Manchester City, at Arsenal, at Spurs, at Aston Villa. Spaniards, Germans, Dutch, Australians, you name it. I went looking for people I know are good. Loyalty is also a thing. Ruud van Nistelrooy: a fantastic, experienced coach with United-DNA. With Darren Fletcher we have a talented British coach. René was someone in the profile like Mitchell had: a very good and experienced, analytically strong field coach. And Jelle ten Rouwelaar has trained three Dutch internationals, including Bart Verbruggen. With his innovative exercise material, he is one of the great talents when it comes to modern goalkeeper training.''

Ten Rouwelaar joined United after just two weeks with former side Ajax, who he joined after a two-year spell working with Vincent Kompany at Burnley came to an end. It is understood United paid a fee of €100,000 to the Dutch club for his services and Ten Hag admits his former side were unhappy with the appointment.

He added: "They were not happy with that, no. I understand that too, I found that annoying too. But I had already spoken extensively with Jelle in February and March. Because many things were still uncertain at the time, including about my own position, I could not yet make hard agreements about that. I'm glad Ajax eventually cooperated to make this possible.''