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Erik ten Hag changed the time of his press conference ahead of tonight’s clash with his “former big love” to help out Dutch journalists.
The Manchester United manager agreed to bring the event forward by five and a half hours so the Dutch journalists in attendance had time to make it to Old Trafford to hear what FC Twente boss Joseph Oosting had to say, as reported by The Daily Mail.
Ten Hag was originally scheduled to face the media after training at Carrington at 4.30pm, with Oosting set to field questions at Old Trafford at 5.15pm.
But in a show of Dutch solidarity, Ten Hag and the club were happy to accommodate a UEFA request to bring the press conference forward to 11.00am, where he called tonight’s opposition his “former big love”.
United face FC Twente in a competitive game for the first time in their history as they kick off their Europa League campaign on home turf.
The match promises to be an emotional one for Ten Hag, who played for the Enschede club 234 times across three spells before beginning his coaching career in the Twente academy.
The 54-year-old tactician is open about his ongoing support for the club, telling the Manchester United website that “of all the teams, Twente is the team that I follow most”.
And while he admits he would rather be facing someone else, he left fans in no doubt as to his approach to tonight’s game: “It’s not nice to have to hurt something you love.”
In many ways the United manager is almost as defined by his past and background as he is by his present.
He has spent big on reuniting with players he has worked with before at Ajax, with the summer additions of Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt bringing that number up to five.
They joined up with fellow Ajax alumni Lisandro Martinez, Andre Onana and Antony who arrived in the Dutchman’s first two seasons.
He even harked back to his Twente days for coaching staff, reuniting with Steve McClaren before the former England manager departed to take on the Jamaican national team job this summer.
Ten Hag’s apparent preference for fellow Dutchmen has also not gone unnoticed. His first signing for the club was young Netherlands left-back Tyrell Malacia, and he also brought in Joshua Zirkzee in attack in the recent transfer window.
He has surrounded himself with compatriots in the dugout too, with United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy and former Twente manager René Hake joining as assistant managers and Jelle ten Rouwelaar appointed first-team goalkeeping coach earlier this year.
