Erik ten Hag insists his quote that Manchester United "can't play the same way" as Ajax was misconstrued. After the 3-0 derby debacle against Manchester City, Ten Hag said in an interview conducted in Dutch: "We are playing different football than I showed at Ajax because I have to, because I can't play the same way.
The players decide how you play." Ten Hag added that "we play much more direct football here because I have the players for that here".
At his pre-match press conference ahead of the pivotal Premier League trip to Fulham, Ten Hag claims he was misunderstood. Read more: Man United get team news boost vs Fulham as Erik ten Hag gives update Read more: United are morphing into their Moyes tweet "I thought the explanation from my point of view was totally wrong, but I can't play like Ajax because of different players.
I came here with my philosophy based on possession but also to combine it with the DNA of Manchester United and combine it with the players, the competencies and the characters of the players and then do you combine. "Last year, we have seen what that was, we played very good football last season.