Manchester United cannot make mistake with Erik ten Hag's assistants

Ajax expect Erik ten Hag to become Manchester United's next manager. Ten Hag would be an exciting appointment, but it has been suggested that Steve McClaren could become the Dutchman's assistant and that would certainly be a colossus mistake.

McClaren is no stranger to Ten Hag. The pair worked together at FC Twente in McClaren's first year in the Netherlands. McClaren had arrived in Holland without any of his own coaching staff and Ten Hag remained at the club after working as an assistant under the previous manager. They immediately built a relationship and Ten Hag impressed McClaren with his meticulous planning.

“His great strength lies not just in his attention to detail and organisation,” McClaren told The Telegraph when asked about Ten Hag. “He has a clear philosophy of how he wants to play football; the environment he wants to create.

ALSO READ: Ajax expecting Erik ten Hag to join Manchester United.

"The player progression programme was a key part of Twente. He has done that at Ajax too, for each player from the academy to the first team."

McClaren is understood to credit Ten Hag with laying the foundations for his success at Twente. The pair parted ways after the former England boss' first season and Twente became Eredivisie champions the following campaign. It was redemption for McClaren, just under three years after being sacked by England. The 'wally with the brolly' had hit back at the doubters.

That unlikely triumph in the Eredivisie — Twente had never won the league title before — came 11 years after United had won the historic treble in 1999. McClaren was Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant during that season and he quickly built a reputation as one of the nation's most forward-thinking and tactically astute