Why I gave up European football to be Manchester United assistant
Man Utd have revamped their coaching staff ahead of the new season to help support Erik ten Hag.
There were a few eyebrows raised when Manchester United announced Rene Hake would be joining them ahead of the new season.
The 52-year-old had just guided Go Ahead Eagles to ninth spot in the Eredivisie, their best finish since the 1970s, and secured a play-off spot for the UEFA Conference League. Yet he left them to become an assistant at Old Trafford.
It might be viewed as somewhat of a backwards step to leave first-team management for a coaching role, but for the experienced Dutch coach it was a 'no brainer' to work with good friend Erik ten Hag at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
United now boast an updated coaching staff of Hake, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Jelle ten Rouwelaar and Andreas Georgson, with Ten Hag set to be supported by a vastly experienced group.
While some might view having three former Eredivisie first-team managers at the club as problematic, Hake believes their experience will only be a good thing for United going forward.
"The first question - if you wanted to join - this was a no-brainer in that way," he told club media. "But I already told you I can work at this level. And, of course, I've been managing. So I know what it takes to be in that role. "So in that way, you can also make your mind up about what he [Ten Hag] is thinking and in that way, I think it can also be easier for us to help the manager to do the right things and to help him to make the best choices in everything we do together.
"Our experience as managers, I think, can help a lot with that, because it's also part of our job to help the other staff members and to find solutions in there to bring that to a good level and, from there on, to continue that to the final decision for the manager."