Dutch journalist Hugo Borst was far from impressed with the lukewarm praise Erik ten Hag had for new Liverpool boss Arne Slot. Manchester United manager Ten Hag took a swipe at Feyenoord’s campaign last season under Slot.
Borst, writing for AD, criticized Ten Hag’s comments, saying, “Ten Hag should really suppress this characteristic. He mentioned in Voetbal International that people are overly enthusiastic about Feyenoord, which was stable but not top.”
Ten Hag did say something positive about Slot’s transition, but he also added, “He ends up in better waters than I did when I went from the Netherlands to Manchester United. In terms of structure in the club, in terms of balance in the selection.” Borst couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy in Ten Hag’s words.
According to Borst, Ten Hag could have turned it around by acknowledging that Slot had much less financial freedom at Feyenoord compared to his time at Ajax. “Slot has rebuilt Feyenoord three times, played dominant football, and won major trophies. Ten Hag could have acknowledged that and praised Slot’s cleverness.”
In conclusion, Borst believes that Ten Hag’s comments were unnecessary and could have been more gracious towards Slot’s achievements at Feyenoord.
