2
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has seen his request for a lounge for his players to relax before games granted.
The Daily Mail’s Chris Wheeler reports that Ten Hag has wanted a dedicated space for his stars to relax and prepare before kick-offs at Old Trafford for some time now.
United are understood to have rejected similar requests from Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal.
The new lounge, as per Wheeler, will be in operation just in time for the club’s opening Premier League tie against Wolves on August 14.
As per The Mail, this move by United means giving up a premium hospitality area that was located in the South Stand and which netted the club millions of pounds annually.
“It is one more example of the Ten Hag revolution at United and the club’s focus on putting football first under chief executive Richard Arnold.”
After his arrival last year, Ten Hag halted the usual practice of staying at the Lowry Hotel before home fixtures.
The Dutchman instructed everyone to report early to Old Trafford where preparations would then take place.
Club bosses did not oppose this policy change as they also harboured reservations about security and logistics. In 2021, a section of United’s militant supporters prevented the players’ coach from exiting the Lowry Hotel as a means of protesting the Glazers’ involvement in the botched European Super League plot.
Mourinho also once famously alighted from the team coach and walked to Old Trafford due to heavy traffic before a Champions League clash against Juventus in October 2018.
The Mail adds, “Ten Hag wanted exclusive use of a more controlled environment where the players could eat and relax before going through their pre-match preparation.
“The club agreed even though losing premium hospitality space was a big decision in the middle of a potential takeover and has meant major upheaval in the cramped South Stand.”
In an effort to make up for some of the financial losses incurred, United have created new hospitality areas in the East Stand and other sections of their iconic home ground.
On why Ten Hag’s was given the green light while Mourinho and Van Gaal saw their requests rebuffed, a source who spoke to The Manchester Evening News jokingly opined that the current manager “asked the nicest.”
