Manchester United’s rise back to the top of English football is firmly up and running.
United secured their first trophy in six years last weekend and they continue to be in the hunt for further silverware this season.
The upturn in fortune seemed a million miles away at the start of the campaign, with United suffering back-to-back Premier League defeats after a disastrous end to the last campaign.
United boss Erik ten Hag has been central to the remarkable turnaround, instilling discipline and confidence at the club.
As reported in the Daily Mirror, Ten Hag’s friend and former teammate Hans Kraay says the United boss deserves all his success at United.
“Erik deserves this success at United. People do not realise that he had to walk through minefields at United in his first five months,” he said.
Kraay claims the Ten Hag took over a club in disarray and singled out Cristiano Ronaldo for making his job even harder.
“It was chaos at the club for a start – and there were the mines laid by Cristiano Ronaldo,” he said.
The Dutch broadcaster then revealed former United boss and fellow countryman, Louis van Gaal had warned Ten Hag off the United job.
“You know what Van Gaal said to Ten Hag, don’t you? “Erik, it is one big mess at United, don’t go there.”
However, Kraay said that Ten Hag was up for the challenge and was willing to face the issues at the club head on, in order to get United back to the top.
“Erik went to United because he saw the potential and the challenge. He did not mind sorting it all out and didn’t mind walking around Cristiano’s landmines.”
Ten Hag has certainly delivered in his first season at the club, which is showing no signs of slowing down with United still alive in all competitions.
United’s next assignment is the all-important trip to Anfield as they attempt to put pressure on Manchester City and Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
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