Ajax ‘ban English media’ from Erik ten Hag press conference amid Man Utd manager links

Rangnick comments on ten Hag rumours as Man Utd close in on new boss

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Ajax have reportedly banned English media from attending Manchester United managerial hopeful Erik ten Hag’s press conference on Saturday. The Red Devils appear close to appointing the Dutchman as their next permanent head coach. 

Several reports this week have suggested that Ten Hag has won the battle with Mauricio Pochettino to become the Premier League side’s next boss. It ends a near six-month search to find Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s replacement. 

However, Ajax seem keen to limit questions being asked of Ten Hag about his future. The Dutch side face Sparta Rotterdam on Saturday and are in the midst of an Eredivisie title race, leading PSV by four points. 

English media will not be able to attend the 52-year-old’s post-match press conference. The Ajax hierarchy want the former Bayern Munich II coach to concentrate on winning the third title of his tenure. 

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Sky Sports News reporter Gary Cotterill told the broadcaster: “As Ten Hag was preparing his team to face Sparta Rotterdam, the media team were busily rejecting the applications from the English media to attend the post-match news conference. There will be no radio, no newspapers, no Sky Sports News. 

“They don’t want him asked, in English, about Manchester United. His English isn’t that great, either. Ajax say he needs to concentrate on winning another [Eredivisie] title. It’s by no means a given – they’re only four points ahead [of PSV] with six games to play. 

“It is a bit worrying that he is not doing any [English] media duties tomorrow because maybe he doesn’t want to answer any difficult questions. But if he is to become the Manchester United manager then he is going to have to get used to answering tricky questions twice, sometimes even three times, a week. That could be something for Manchester United fans to worry about.”

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United’s interim head coach Ralf Rangnick was also keen to not discuss the appointment of the next manager. The German has been in charge since Solskjaer’s sacking in November and has overseen a tricky period. 

But Rangnick insisted that every coach United have interviewed is of an elite quality, and appeared to imply that included Ten Hag. “This is the press conference for tomorrow’s game and I don’t intend to speak about any possible new managers here,” Rangnick said. 

“From what I know, all the managers the club has spoken to so far are top managers, top coaches and this is true of Erik ten Hag. That’s all I can say at this stage. For me it’s about preparing the team for tomorrow’s game and hopefully three points tomorrow.”

He added: “I know with which coaches they have spoken so far, they are all top coaches, but again my focus is on tomorrow, the game tomorrow and the upcoming games after tomorrow’s game.”

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