Erik ten Hag footage shows he is about to give Manchester United something they desperately need

The footage is nearly two-and-a-half years old but worthy of inclusion in the Erik ten Hag brochure the Manchester United decision-makers sifted through.

It is seven days before Christmas in 2019 and Ajax are playing in front of 5,000 fans at second-tier SC Telstar in the Dutch cup second round. Only 17 days earlier, Noa Lang became Ajax's first player in 60 years to score a hat-trick on their full league debut.

If Lang, 20 at the time, felt he was entitled to be cut some slack from his manager he was in for a shock.

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"Noa, you have to run deep," Ten Hag barks. Lang, 29 years Ten Hag's junior, has the brass neck to complain.

"You have to shut up," Ten Hag retorts. "You have to listen. You just need to do it. No, cut it out. It's our game, not just yours." The camera cuts to Lang, completely cowed.

A month after his encounter with Ten Hag, Lang was farmed out on loan to Twente. There is maybe a reason Lang is now at Club Brugge permanently. He has had such a fertile impact Louis van Gaal deemed him worthy of inclusion in the Netherlands squad in October and Lang has attained three caps, although he was omitted from the squad last month.

Lang was ushered out of the door as Ajax had signed Ryan Babel. Ajax's XI at NEC Nijmegen on Saturday consisted of another six Premier League cast-offs. One of them, Daley Blind, is still in touch with people at United and assured them Ten Hag is firm.

Ten Hag's voice sounds hoarse in the clip with Lang and he may lose it hollering at Bruno Fernandes. Fernandes has become querulous without the quality for most of this season and deserving of another demotion.

Initially, Fernandes's lip was refreshing