Solskjaer's former assistant lauds 'fantastic' Erik ten Hag and allays Man Utd fears

Former Manchester United assistant Kieran McKenna has hailed Erik ten Hag as a ‘fantastic’ coach and is confident the club have all the building blocks in place to help the Dutchman succeed.

The Ajax boss is believed to have verbally agreed a three-year deal – with the option for a fourth – to take over at Old Trafford, though the club will not make an announcement until after Sunday’s Dutch Cup final to avoid disrupting the Eredivisie champions’ season.

In different circumstances, McKenna might have been part of Ten Hag’s coaching staff but he opted to leave the club in December to take over as manager of Ipswich Town.

The Northern Irishman was originally promoted to the first-team coaching staff under Jose Mourinho and was an integral part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s backroom team, while he also briefly worked under Ralf Rangnick.

Having also been a youth coach at United, few people are as well positioned to understand the state of the club behind the scenes.

There have been concerns that Ten Hag’s looming appointment will only be a success if United’s approach to recruitment is dramatically improved, but McKenna is confident the technical staff at the club are working hard to give the Dutchman the best possible chance of hitting the ground running.

Asked about the prospective arrival of Ten Hag, McKenna told Sky Sports: ‘Obviously Erik ten Hag is a fantastic coach, I’ve enjoyed watching his Ajax team over the last few years.

‘They’re a team that I’ve watched quite a lot of and I’ve really enjoyed the style of play he’s managed to impart there.

‘I think obviously until anything is officially announced it’s difficult to talk too early, and all the names that have been linked with [the job] are very good coaches – and