Erik ten Hag is carrying out his role as FC Twente technical director in highly unusual fashion, Jeroen Kapteijns writes in an analysis for De Telegraaf.
Twente appointed Ten Hag as technical director a few months ago at the club where he also spent years as a player.
Born in Haaksbergen, Ten Hag made a strong start by tying Ruud Nijstad down to a new deal. That kept him out of the hands of various top clubs in the Netherlands and abroad.
Twente sold Mats Rots to TSG Hoffenheim for fifteen million euros, while Wout Weghorst, Joël Drommel and Ramiz Zerrouki arrived at De Grolsch Veste.
Yet the two-legged tie against Ferencváros showed Ten Hag still has plenty of work to do. John van den Brom's side lost 4-3 on aggregate across the two matches.
De Telegraaf say Ten Hag is handling the job in an unusual way. "The way he is doing it is unusual and could potentially become an issue," Kapteijns says.
"He does not miss a single training session, is at the training ground every day, is always present for match briefings and goes into the dressing room at Twente both before and after matches."
"Such a large influence from a technical director is highly unusual in the Netherlands and could create extra pressure for Van den Brom and the players, especially if the season does not go as hoped."