What the Manchester United dressing room has made of Erik ten Hag's appointment

Manchester United players are encouraged by the coaching credentials of Erik ten Hag after he was confirmed as the club’s next permanent manager.

But there is some concern around the dressing room as to whether he has the force of personality to turn United’s fortunes around, with morale at rock bottom after a disastrous season.

Ten Hag was appointed the club’s next permanent manager last week and he will begin work in June after signing a three-year deal, but the task facing the 52-year-old is a sizeable one.

READ MORE: Ten Hag footage shows he is about to give United what they desperately need

He will inherit a squad that has lost all belief since the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager, with confidence drained from a group that looked set to challenge at the top of the league as recently as September.

Some players had backed the idea of appointing Mauricio Pochettino as manager when the Argentine was expected to take over when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked.

While Ten Hag’s work at Ajax has impressed plenty within the United dressing room, the concern to some is that it’s felt a strong manager is needed to rebuild the squad, not just an outstanding coach, and it remains unclear if Ten Hag has the ability to do that.

He is seeking to leave Ajax with a third Eredivisie title and has won plenty of plaudits for the style of those teams, but he has never taken on a task quite as substantial as the rebuild required at Old Trafford.

The turmoil of this season has sapped the confidence levels within the squad and the manner of the defeat to Arsenal highlighted the dwindling self-belief, with United beaten despite a much-improved performance at the Emirates Stadium.

There have been just 10 wins in 25 games