Mitchell van der Gaag training sessions might divide Manchester United dressing room

Erik ten Hag doesn't have any experience of British football, but his two assistant managers will compensate for that. Steve McClaren knows all about the Premier League and Manchester United and Mitchell van der Gaag actually played for Motherwell in Scotland for two years.

McClaren and Van der Gaag attended United's last match of the season against Crystal Palace with Ten Hag and that was confirmation before the official announcement both coaches would be part of the new backroom staff at Old Trafford. Ten Hag, Van der Gaag and McClaren sat with John Murtough and Richard Arnold at Selhurst Park. Van der Gagg was pictured writing notes.

United's rebuild will be shaped by those five men. The club has been forced into a transitional period after its worst season in decades and Ten Hag is staring at the biggest challenge of his career, which is why he needed his own, trusted coaches.

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McClaren did various interviews about Ten Hag earlier this year before returning to United, but Van der Gaag is yet to do an interview with the British media. Van der Gaag's history is readily available online — he managed at first-team level until last summer when he agreed to become Ten Hag's assistant at Ajax — but it's harder for fans to get a picture of his character. They already know all about McClaren.

The former England manager has provided precious insight into Ten Hag over the last few months. McClaren has lauded Ten Hag's tactical nous, his meticulous approach to training and how hard he works his players in pre-season and beyond.

That might explain why Ten Hag thought Van der Gaag would be the perfect foil to complement his