The Dutchman is now working under a new boss (Picture: Getty Images)
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says he has already spoken to Ineos director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford and is excited to work with the club’s new minority owners.
After months of waiting, United confirmed on Christmas Eve that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos had acquired a 25 per cent stake in the club that will see them take control of football operations.
Brailsford, famously British Cycling’s director of performance for two record-breaking Olympic Games, has overseen the petro-chemical company’s sports portfolio since 2021 and will play an integral role in Ineos’ overhaul of United.
He is in attendance at Old Trafford on Tuesday night to watch the club’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa and is expected to be the primary representative of the new minority stakeholders.
Although the £1.3billion deal was announced barely 48 hours ago, Ten Hag confirmed he has already spoken with Brailsford and is keen to start working together in the new Ineos era.
Asked if the takeover news interfered with United’s preparations for facing Villa, Ten Hag told Prime Video: ‘I was kept informed during the whole process, so I knew what was going on, but my focus was on the game.’
Probed on whether he has had any conversations with Brailsford yet, Ten Hag continued: ‘Yes, I did.
Brailsford will be a key decision-maker at Old Trafford (Picture: Getty)
‘I didn’t have contact [before] because it wasn’t allowed during the process, but I was kept informed, as I said.
‘I know what they want, he wants to work with us, I want to work with him and his group, they have a lot of experience so looking forward.’
United were beaten 2-0 by West Ham last time out – incredibly, their 13th defeat of the season – and need to bounce back against high-flying Villa, with Ten Hag confident his side can get a result despite a lack of goals recently.
He continued: ‘If you want to win you have to score, and we want to win. We go into every game to win so we can do better, that’s a fact. We have created chances, even one-on-ones, so we have to net.
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‘They [Villa] are doing very well, a very good team. But I said to the lads, we went head-to-head, toe-to-toe with Arsenal, with Liverpool. So when we play our best, we can beat any opponent in this league.
‘But you have to believe it. So if everybody believes it, from the first whistle to the final whistle, then it’s possible.
‘Of course, we respect them. But we can also play very good football and when we play our best we can win any game.’
On his team selection, he added: ‘Unfortunately [Luke Shaw] came out with a minor injury from the game against West Ham so we had to change. Rapha [Varane] is back, Christian Eriksen is back, so that is positive.’
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The Dutchman is now working under a new boss.