Gary Neville believes it would benefit Erik ten Hag if he were to take a short break before officially starting his role as Manchester United manager.
The Dutchman, 52, took charge of Ajax for the final time on Sunday, overseeing a 2-2 draw with Vitesse Arnhem before making the decision to terminate his contract with the Dutch giants early, highlighting how quickly his focus has switched to matters at Old Trafford. Ten Hag was understood to be flying to England on Monday.
But despite being scheduled to arrive in the country on Monday, the Manchester Evening News understands that he will not be arriving at the club's Carrington training base this week. He also won't be in the dugout for Sunday's season finale against Crystal Palace, despite reports elsewhere suggesting otherwise.
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He has, however, started planning for when he's handed the reins ahead of the start of next season. He held discussions with United chiefs at a recruitment meeting in Amsterdam last Thursday.
But with a huge challenge awaiting Ten Hag this summer and next season, former United right-back Neville is adamant that the Dutchman should enjoy a small period of relaxation before picking up the baton from Ralf Rangnick. He has just completed a long campaign in the Netherlands and next season promises to be even tougher.
"I think if he's coming over for a short period of time... the players are only going to be there for a week, [he needs to] sit down with the players one to one and get to know them," Neville told Sky Sports. "But I hope he goes on holiday for a couple of weeks and gets some break because the job's big at United and the seasons are long.
"So I hope this week is to get to meet the staff because the players will all disappear after this week. I'm hoping it's a 'getting to know you' trip rather than sitting down and starting to look at tactics and all that stuff.
"He needs a break; it's a long season, he's got a big job in front of him and he'll need that rest come next season. He'll need to be fresh, but I'm sure he'll know that."
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