Arne Slot or Erik ten Hag? Former player rates experiences under both managers
- Midfielder Mark Diemers played under both Slot & Ten Hag earlier in his career
- 30-year-old asked to choose which manager he preferred
- Ten Hag still in contact with Diemers
By Tom Gott
Dutch midfielder Mark Diemers, who has played under both Arne Slot & Erik ten Hag during his career, has confessed he preferred his time under the new Liverpool head coach.
Diemers, 30, spent the first half of the 2015/16 season as part of Ten Hag's FC Utrecht team and, after a handful of loan moves and free transfers, found himself at Feyenoord when Slot arrived in 2021.
Asked to choose his favourite, Diemers sided with Slot as he admitted he was not always sold on Ten Hag's man management.
"I choose Arne Slot," Diemers told ESPN. "I can only speak from my time.
"I thought Ten Hag was incredibly good on a tactical level, and so were his training sessions. I just didn't think he was very good on a human level at that time. But that was six or seven years ago. I thought Slot was a lot stronger on a human level.
"Look at the clubs [Ten Hag] has worked for, so he must also have qualities on a human level. I still have contact with him via WhatsApp. He also comes across as very friendly to me then. He will undoubtedly have grown on a human level as well."
Ten Hag was in just the second season of his senior management career when he crossed paths with Diemers at Utrecht. The pair would part ways after just six months, with the midfielder heading out on loan as Ten Hag built up a formidable squad.
A move to Ajax came in 2017 and, after five years, Ten Hag earned himself a move to Manchester United.
Ten Hag and Slot's managerial career has only overlapped for two seasons. They first met in the 2019/20 season, with Slot's AZ Alkmaar surprisingly doing the double over Ten Hag's Ajax.
The Amsterdam outfit would get revenge for Ten Hag in 2021/22 with back-to-back triumphs over Feyenoord, before the pair went their separate ways as Ten Hag headed to England.
With Slot joining Liverpool this summer, the pair are set to butt heads once again in the Premier League next season.
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