Erik ten Hag makes huge admission about Man Utd's style of play
- Ten Hag has said it's not in Man Utd's DNA to play possession football
- The Red Devils lost to Man City on Sunday
- United's boss has been criticised for his team's performance
Erik ten Hag has insisted he can't implement the tactical set-up he utilised with Ajax at Old Trafford because it is "not the DNA of Manchester United."
Having been famed for playing an expansive style of possession-based football at his former club Ajax - winning three Eredivisie titles and reaching the Champions League final with the club - many were expecting Ten Hag to adopt a similar style of play after taking over at Man Utd, however that hasn't been the case.
Ten Hag's Man Utd suffered their seventh defeat in all competitions this season already on Sunday, being comfortably beaten by Man City at Old Trafford - losing 3-0 thanks to goals from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.
Following the game much has been made of Man Utd's general inability to go toe-to-toe with the league's top teams, despite forking out nearly £400m on new signings since Ten Hag took charge at Old Trafford in summer 2022, with the Red Devils attempting to catch Man City on the break on occasion on Sunday instead of trying to control possession and the tempo of the game.
The Red Devils would end the game with just 40% possession on home turf, prompting questions over why Ten Hag's side appear so different to his famous Ajax team.
Speaking to Viaplay after the defeat to arch rivals Man City, Ten Hag explained why he is unable to play possession-based football at Man Utd.
"We will never play the football we played at Ajax here," he said. "I now have other players, that's not why I came here.
"The player material you have determines how you will play. That's why we play here in a different way than I did at Ajax. That will have to be the case, because I can't play the same way here.
"That is not in the DNA of Manchester United at all. The football at Ajax is very typical, here we will play much more directly. We also have the players for that, especially at the forefront."
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