Ajax drags itself in the last weeks of Erik ten Hag to the end of the season

Would Erik ten Hag think about Cristiano Ronaldo before going to sleep? While British journalists are not yet speculating about the job that awaits him in Manchester – and could even be found in his birthplace Haaksbergen – the trainer tries to stay as far away as possible from everything that could distract him from a, partly due to injuries, increasingly difficult task: the title fight.

Four points. That’s how big the gap with PSV is on Saturday afternoon, when the Ajax coach enters the Goffert Stadium, NEC’s charming, park-hidden residence that contrasts in many ways with the beautiful stadiums where Ten Hag will stand along the line next season.

Also read: A difficult assignment for Ten Hag at a top club in decline

No glitz and glamour. In the Goffert people urinate against a wall, with a tap above it that drips for the form. In the boxes, sponsors sing along with De Sjonnies, while the field – undoubtedly appreciated by many amateur footballers – is not as smooth as just about any turf in the Premier League on which Ten Hag’s new club plays every week. The ball will bounce a lot this Saturday, resulting in a lot of ball loss for Ajax.

“You just have to win, otherwise you will be settled,” Ten Hag said earlier this week. “And it’s never good enough. After the winter break, Ajax took more points than before, but the picture is that we were much better in the first half of the season.”

Pep Guardiola

The statements can be read in Fidelity, who had an interview appointment the day his move to Manchester United was officially announced. That Thursday afternoon, Ten Hag had just told the Ajax players the news while they were standing around him on the training field. They had been happy for him, had clapped. Nevertheless, the trainer himself wanted to say as few words as possible in the interview. The appointment was one question, despite the fact that he had been one of the hottest topics in European football for at least a week.

There was also a lot of praise. “He is a top manager,” Pep Guardiola, Manchester City manager, said on Friday. “His teams at Ajax were great to watch.” Those compliments did mean something to him, Ten Hag said to ESPN on Saturday afternoon, before kick-off. After that it is soon about Ajax again. About the lost cup final against PSV and what his team did to change their minds: gaming. The football game FIFA, but also other games in which the trainer himself participated. „You should have had him, grins Ajax striker Brian Brobbey afterwards in the Goffert. For example, the coach stepped outside his comfort zone, he became the Ten Hag that only players, friends and family see.

The public sees a trainer on Saturday who eats himself along the line. It doesn’t work at Ajax. Passes don’t arrive, neither do crosses. There is a roar of laughter when Ajax player Ryan Gravenberch shoots the ball over the boarding. Even harder with a failed trick by Steven Berghuis, who is completely out of the game and has to make way for Brobbey at half time.

Berghuis plays on the right flank in the absence of the injured Brazilian Antony. As a result, he gets to the ball much less than he would like. “Pass now, pass now.” But the midfielders behind him are making different choices. Not the best, as Ajax hardly achieves anything.

However, after half an hour, it gets an easily given penalty. An opportunity that Ajax can use well given the weak game, but captain Dusan Tadic misses from eleven meters. The reaction in the Goffert says everything about the relations between the two clubs. The cheers are so loud that they must have thought NEC had scored on the sunbathing lawns in the surrounding Goffert Park.

Afterwards, Ten Hag blames the poor performance on all absentees in his team. Antony who is out for a long time, the hand injury of Edson Alvarez, the physical troubles of Noussair Mazraoui and Lisandro Martinez. “It’s cutting and pasting, especially in the last line.” When Perr Schuurs had also limped to the side before half-time, Ten Hag appealed to a debutant: 21-year-old Liam van Gelderen, who did not stand out as a right back – not a bad sign.

Injuries would not be the biggest problem in the Ajax dressing room. At least, that’s what ESPN presenter Jan-Joost van Gangelen hinted at on Friday. „It seems to be one big chaos in the selection of Ajax among themselves”, he said on the radio. What exactly was going on? Van Gangelen did not say that. He mainly summed up all the worries of this season. The departure of director Marc Overmars due to cross-border messages, the doping affair around goalkeeper André Onana, the criminal case against Quincy Promes who has since left, the transfer of Ten Hag and the upcoming transfers of important forces such as Gravenberch, Mazraoui and perhaps Jurriën Timber. “It squeaks and creaks on all sides,” says Van Gangelen.

You would believe his lecture until the 88th minute. But then there is Brobbey, who receives the ball from Mohammed Kudus, cleverly turns away from his opponent and saves Ajax from losing a point with the only goal of the afternoon: 0-1.

“I also prefer to play better football,” Ten Hag admits during the press conference. Yet he also saw a lot of “good energy.” “The team is highly motivated.” Before he gets on the team bus a little later, in the knowledge that PSV still has to join SC Cambuur, the inevitable question about his future in England follows. “But I’m not going to go into that,” says Ten Hag. He is targeting PEC Zwolle at home next week, and the three games after that.

Isn’t he happy with his new club? “Very happy of course.” But: he is also very satisfied with Ajax. “I enjoy driving to work every day.” He will be even happier when Ajax finishes at the top for the fourth time in a row under his leadership.