Brighton and Hove Albion defender Joel Veltman was quizzed on his former manager, Erik ten Hag, ahead of his side’s trip to Old Trafford this weekend.
Veltman will be well-acquainted with the Manchester United manager from the time they spent together in Amsterdam, in which he won the Eredivisie title, KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield before departing for the South East of England.
Since Ten Hag took over United in 2022, there have already been numerous off-pitch issues to overcome; Cristiano Ronaldo’s notorious interview with Piers Morgan, scandals involving Mason Greenwood and Antony, the club being up for sale for over nine months, and now Jadon Sancho’s widely-covered response to his manager’s criticism.
It remains to be seen if Sancho will return to the fold this weekend, with reports suggesting that the scheduled ‘clear-the-air talks’ did not resolve the feud between the player and the coach.
Veltman on Ten Hag’s management
Still, Veltman ensures that Ten Hag won’t let that get in the way of his squad’s performances. He told Football Daily: “Just focus on his team, that’s what his job is and that’s what he needs to do. I don’t think he will get troubled or get worried about things going on with the owners or whatever, he needs to perform on the pitch and that’s his responsibility. So I think he will just focus on the players and doing his best job to win the games for them.” Veltman said.
“Yeah, I think so [Ten Hag is good at detaching himself from off-field issues]. Of course, I’m not in that squad [United’s] so I don’t know at the moment but I knew at Ajax – also a big club, lots of things going on and outside the pitch as well – I know from that time he was doing just his job, focused on the team, and we did well at the end. Hopefully not this weekend, but in the future and the coming days for United, I think they will do a great job as well.”
🗣️ “I don’t think he will get troubled or get worried. He needs to perform on the pitch and I think he will just focus on the players.”
Joël Veltman who played under Erik ten Hag at Ajax says he will NOT allow off-field issues impact his Manchester United side. 🇳🇱❌ pic.twitter.com/9BBVL94wis
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 13, 2023
Footage courtesy of Football Daily.
