The Reds’ most recent Premier League season ended on Sunday against Crystal Palace, but it won’t be long before they’re back at Carrington.
After formally starting work as manager today (Monday), the 52-year-old told us that the players of the squad who are not involved in the next international fixtures would return from their vacations on Monday, June 27.
United’s preseason schedule has already been released, with a match against Liverpool in Bangkok kicking off Tour 2022 on Friday, July 12th, followed by matches against Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 15th and 19th, respectively.
The tour’s Australia leg culminates on July 23 in Perth against Aston Villa, with the Premier League kicking begin a fortnight later.
When questioned about his intentions for the coming weeks, Erik responded, “First, we have a break.”
“We’ll begin preseason on June 27th, and I’ll get a few members of the squad, as well as individual players.”
World Cup qualifications, Nations League games, and friendlies are all slated for the first two weeks of June, and numerous Reds have already been called up by their respective national teams, with more to follow.
“Not all of the players will be coming in [on June 27], because those that play internationals will have a longer break because they play longer in this season,” he explained.
Despite the reinforcements he expects from the squad in certain areas, United finished second in the league in 2020/21, according to Ten Hag.
As a result, he believes he has much to work with at Old Trafford as he begins his managerial career here after winning three Eredivisie titles in four and a half years with Ajax.
“We want to rejuvenate the roster in specific places, but as I mentioned, this squad was second in the league a year ago.”
“So there’s promise there, and I’m looking forward to working with the team.”
If that is virtually the rules so be it