Erik ten Hag can succeed where Louis van Gaal failed at Manchester United

Louis van Gaal's stark warning to Erik ten Hag over the perils of the Manchester United job were always going to make headlines during an international break, but for the former United manager this was simply a variation on a theme.

The 70-year-old has worked at Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and United but it's the club from Manchester that attracts his ire for its prioritising of commercial interests over footballing matters. That's why the current Holland manager warned his highly-rated compatriot about the pitfalls that come with what looks like one of the most attractive jobs in the game, at least to outsiders.

“Erik ten Hag is a great coach, and that is always good for Manchester United. But Manchester United are a commercial club, so it’s a difficult choice for a coach. He’d better go to a football club," said Van Gaal.

READ MORE: United continuing next manager process after Ten Hag interview

“I’m not going to advise him, he’ll call me himself. But he must choose a football club and not a commercial club.”

Van Gaal had been at United for a few weeks when he was complaining about the "commercial activities" that were interrupting the club's pre-season tour of the United States and the significant distances being covered as they crossed the country. Then, in a 2019 interview with the BBC long after his departure, he repeated the claim that the priorities had become distorted at Old Trafford.

"At the moment there is a structure with a scouting division and above that is someone at Woodward’s right hand. The structure is not so bad but the right hand has to be a technical director with a football view, not somebody with a banker’s role,” he said.

“Unfortunately, we are talking about a commercial club, not a football