‘Two great years’ – Mitchell van der Gaag explains Manchester United exit

Former Manchester United coach Mitchell van der Gaag has reflected on “two great years” at Old Trafford after revealing his decision to leave the club in the summer.

Van der Gaag was sent on his way along with Benny McCarthy when United named former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and Go Ahead Eagles manager Rene Hake as their new assistant managers.

After a call from the Jamaica national team, Steve McClaren later followed by leaving United.

“What happened? Well, not so much,” Van der Gaag told NOS when asked about his decision to leave United in the summer.

“My ambition is to become a head coach again, after first being an assistant at Ajax and then at Manchester United. It’s great to be an assistant, but at a certain point you also have to follow your ambitions again.”

Mitchell van der Gaag enjoyed Premier League standards

It’s a fair reason, and we can’t blame Van der Gaag for moving on to develop his own managerial career. The same would probably happen with Van Nistelrooy and Hake had they spent two years at the club, learning under the careful guidance of Erik ten Hag.

Van der Gaag took more positives from his time in England, adding: “Those were two great years, because you really work at the top. And I’m not just talking about United, but also the entire competition.

“Normally you see the Premier League on television, now I was in the middle of it. If you look at the tactical variation, to use a coaching term: it is top in the Premier League. It was enjoyable.”

He added: “You see with Ineos that they are in line with Ten Hag and dare to look ahead. But in that whole process you do need results. In that respect, it is nice that you enjoyed this last weekend Brentford wins.”