1.Assemble his coaching staff
Now that Ten Hag’s future has been rubber-stamped, he will need to finalise his coaching staff for the new season. Forwards coach Benni McCarthy has left the club and Ten Hag is hoping to add legendary United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy to his staff along with Dutch coach Rene Hake, who he first worked with 19 years ago at FC Twente.
2.Buy some defenders
Put simply, United’s defence last season was a calamity. The team conceded 58 league goals, 15 more than the previous campaign. They also surrendered an average of 17.6 shots per game, higher than every side apart from Sheffield United.
Part of the problem was that injury issues meant Ten Hag had to field 15 separate centre-back partnerships. He also had no fit left-backs, as Tyrell Malacia missed the whole campaign and Luke Shaw played just 12 league games. So United must prioritise bolstering their back line, with the aim of getting at least three new defenders.
3. Address injury situation
Ten Hag used United’s injury crisis as his principal excuse for the team’s dreadful results last term and seems to have successfully convinced INEOS that things will be different as long as his players stay fit. But the club cannot allow a repeat and must get to the bottom of the problem.
United have conducted a review of the problem with new doctor Gary O’Driscoll, who they hired from Arsenal, but Ten Hag’s reluctance to rotate his squad and give players adequate rest must also be taken into account and challenged.
4. Sign another striker
Anthony Martial has finally left United, but the truth is it felt like he had left long ago. His long absences and scant contribution on the rare occasion he was fit meant that the club effectively had just one striker last season, and Rasmus Hojlund was still learning his trade.
The Dane had a decent first season but badly needed more support, and the club need to sign another striker who can share the burden with him and avoid a repeat of having to play Bruno Fernandes as a false nine when Hojlund is unavailable.
5. Make a quick call on Rashford
Ten Hag seemed to have forgotten that he was still Rashford’s manager when he bluntly declared on Dutch television that the forward did not deserve to be included in the England squad. Rashford had a miserable campaign on and off the pitch, and there is a feeling among many United fans that the best thing for everyone would be for him to leave. The forward would, after all, garner a hefty transfer fee, which could then be reinvested in the squad.
But whether they decide to sell or keep Rashford, the club need to make a quick decision on him and make it public so that they can begin building the squad with clarity.
