Erik has huge task at hand: Schmeichel

Chennai: ten Hag, currently the Ajax boss in the Eredivisie (Dutch League), will replace interim manager Ralf Rangnick as United aims to bring back its glory days. “He (ten Hag) firstly has to work on the culture of the dressing room.. and then, playing. But, the good thing is that he has time till the end of the [current] season to figure out what he has to do,” said Schmeichel, who was in the city as part of ‘United We Play’, a grassroots development initiative of Man United and Apollo Tyres.

“I have confidence in him, but it is not going to be easy,” added Schmeichel, who was accompanied by a host of United stars – Nemanja Vidic, Louis Saha, Mikael Silvestre, Wes Brown, Quinton Fortune and Ronny Johnsen. Meanwhile, Silvestre, who represented Chennaiyin FC in the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League, said that there is enough appetite for football in the country.

“My personal experience was pleasant. I discovered the level of Indian football. Sunil Chhetri is an example for Indian players. He came out of nowhere. He is the leading goal-scorer [for the country] and he has achieved a lot at this level. I believe that football is growing.”

Four youngsters who impressed the most in the ‘United We Play’ 2.0 finale – RS Preyarhanjan, Federick Kurbah, Ronald Singh and Kunal Yeole – will get to visit Old Trafford and train under the Manchester United Soccer Schools coaches.