Mitchell van der Gaag has told NOS that he left Manchester United to become a senior manager.
The 52-year-old joined Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff at Ajax in 2021 and followed him to Manchester United a year later.
He worked as Ten Hag’s assistant for two seasons before leaving the Red Devils at the end of last season. Van der Gaag has now stated his desire to become the first-team manager convinced him to move away Manchester United.
“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 said.
In the last two seasons, Manchester United won the EFL Cup and the FA Cup under Ten Hag. The Dutchman is pleased to have experienced the Premier League with the Red Devils.
“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.”
Ten Hag also saw both Steve McClaren and Benni McCarthy leave his backroom staff at the end of last season. The manager welcomed Ruud van Nistelrooy and René Hake to his coaching staff.
The latter two’s appointments were made in the summer, months after Sir Jim Ratcliffe led Ineos acquired a minority stake in the Premier League side. Van der Gaag has this to say about the new owners and Ten Hag’s vision for the club.
“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.
Manchester United are currently 12th in the table, six points behind fourth placed Aston Villa.
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.”
