Erik ten Hag can give Manchester United players what they've been missing for three years

If there are doubts in the Manchester United dressing room around the appointment of Erik ten Hag as the club's next manager then they centre on his strength of personality, rather than his skills as a coach and a tactician.

Ten Hag has proven himself to be an outstanding training ground manager, not just at Ajax but also in achieving relative success with two of Holland's less glamorous clubs in Go Ahead Eagles and Utrecht.

What he hasn't done yet is show the character required to manage players of the standing he is about to encounter at Old Trafford. In a dressing room that has been pulling in different directions this season that is the only concern around his suitability for the job.

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Some at United felt a strong personality was required to shake this squad out of its stupor and in Ten Hag they have someone who has generally been seen to be a little more taciturn in his time in his home country. He still has to show he can manage the egos of World Cup and Champions League winners.

But what he will certainly bring to the squad is a renewed focus on detailed work in training at Carrington. That has always been one of his strengths and many of his former players have praised his ability to improve them as players and knit them into a team through that forensic eye for detail.

Ten Hag signed off as Ajax manager on Sunday and immediately stepped up his preparations for taking over at Old Trafford. While he is remaining in the Netherlands this week he is spending his time focusing on United, eschewing a post-season trip to Curacao with Ajax to plan ahead with his new team.

He's already met football director John Murtough and spoken to some of