Erik ten Hag’s Man Utd replacement confirmed after decision made for Everton clash

Erik ten Hag’s Man Utd replacement confirmed after decision made for Everton clash

Manchester United will be without Erik ten Hag for the trip to Everton as he serves a touchline ban with his assistant, Mitchell van der Gaag, stepping in at Goodison Park

Manchester United’s assistant coach Mitchell van der Gaag will fill in for Erik ten Hag at Everton with the Dutchman dealing with a touchline ban.

The Red Devils travel to Goodison Park on Sunday but will have their coach’s No 2 barking the orders.

Ten Hag has now picked up three yellow cards, the most recent coming in the win over Luton, and has been punished as a result.

He will watch the game from the director’s box but still be allowed to communicate with his staff.

Van der Gaag has spent more than a decade as a head coach at the likes of Maratimo, Excelsior and NAC Breda so will by no means be out of his depth on Merseyside.

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Ten Hag has underlined his faith in his deputy with fellow assistant Steve McClaren also around to provide his input throughout the clash.

United will be looking to continue their good form having won four of their last five – making them the Premier League’s form outfit.

The United boss has even suggested he’ll be able to give a greater insight by being sat in the stands, giving him a greater lay of the land.

“I’m quite confident. I will have an even better overview [from the stands], but we have a very good backroom staff,” he said.

“They are very capable and experienced, so they know what to do. That will not affect our game.”

Ten Hag will also be allowed to enter the dressing room at half-time to give any feedback as he targets a second win at Goodison Park in two visits. Last term’s win at Everton saw Cristiano Ronaldo score his final league goal for the club before his acrimonious exit.

The trip to Everton marks a massive week of away games for the team who travel to Turkey in midweek before taking on rivals Newcastle at St James’ Park. Three wins could prove to be a major turning point with Ten Hag confident his side have recovered from their slow start.

He said: “We have seen a turning point and we have seen how we deal with certain situations, that we now build on these situations. Now we have to build on it, [as] it is now a massive month. We are really looking forward with confidence because as you said, in the Premier League, everyone is winning against everyone.

“There are no easy games for anyone, so every team will drop points, but in the last five games, we have won [four]. That will give us confidence.”