Erik ten Hag watches Manchester United U21s draw with West Ham and stays true to promise

Erik ten Hag made an outstanding impression on Manchester United's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia in the summer. He was straight-talking in press conferences and it was understood the players were responding well to his approach in training.

He does not give much away when talking to journalists, but he provided a detailed answer when asked about the club's youngsters in Australia. Ten Hag said he was getting to know the players and he promised that young talent would get opportunities during his premiership. The Dutchman has stayed true to his word by promoting multiple youngsters to first-team training.

Ten Hag went beyond that promise when making the trip to non-league Altrincham's Moss Lane stadium. United's U21s welcomed West Ham in the Premier League 2 on Friday night and Ten Hag was in attendance, along with Mitchell Van der Gaag, Darren Fletcher and Richard Harris. Ten Hag had just returned from Chisinau, Moldova and he was taking in yet another game hours later.

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The United boss appeared in high spirits in the 'premium' seats of Altrincham's stadium. Ten Hag was wearing a black puffer jacket to protect himself from cold under the floodlights and his assistant Van der Gaag opted for a Peaky Blinders-inspired hat.

Ten Hag has promoted Radek Vitek, Tyler Fredricson, Kobbie Mainoo, Zidane Iqbal, Shola Shoretire and Charlie McNeill to first-team training and that has meant Mark Dempsey's Under-21 squad has been left without some key players for matches this season.

Iqbal was on the bench as United defeated FC Sheriff on Thursday night and was not in the U21 squad on Friday, but McNeill started the match after travelling to Chisinau. Ten