"Eras come to an end," Erik ten Hag once said, though he had rivals Manchester City and Liverpool in mind when he said this back in 2022. As it turns out, it was a foreshadowing of what was to come a couple of years later.

On 28 October, an era - if you can really call it that - came to an end: The Erik ten Hag era at Manchester United. This outcome felt inevitable, especially after the Red Devils' 1-2 loss to West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday. On Monday, United confirmed in a statement that the club had decided to part ways with Ten Hag and that Ruud van Nistelrooy would take over on an interim basis until a permanent successor is found.

Many names have been doing the rounds as replacements for Ten Hag, including the likes of Thomas Frank, Gareth Southgate, and most recently current Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim. But, whoever takes charge of United on a full-time basis will have a huge task at hand. And it will be important to not make the mistakes that the Dutchman had made during his two-year stint.

What are the mistakes the next Manchester United manager should avoid? We take a look:

Style of play

One major thing that United lacked under Ten Hag was playing attractive football. Midfielders lacked creativity and the attackers lacked those finishing touches up front. The problems were that basic for United under Ten Hag.

It's not just the attacking style of play that has been questioned. Lack of defensive stability is another aspect where United went wrong under the former Ajax boss. Manchester United were one of the worst teams defensively in the Premier League in 2023-24 and were quite vulnerable on counter-attacks, with players often losing possession of the ball.

United leaked 58 goals in 28 matches last season and have already given away 11 goals in nine matches in the 2024-25 ongoing season.

Falling out with players

To be honest, United have been the complete opposite of what their team suggests. Ten Hag often had bitter relationships with a few players during his tenure, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho leading the list.

Erik ten Hag had a tense relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo. Reuters Manchester United are already a club in crisis and the last thing the club needs is a player vs manager fallout. Whoever comes in to be the next Manchester United manager must build a trustworthy relationship with players because the off-field rapport between the manager and the players is important for the on-field results.

Tactical blunders

More often than not, Erik Ten Hag was a victim of committing tactical blunders during his time at United. While there were multiple tactical blunders from Ten Hag, one of the latest instances was starting Noussair Mazraoui as a number 10 against Fenerbahce in the UEFA Europa League. This was a game for which Bruno Fernandes was suspended, so Ten Hag had to tweak the Moroccan's position.

Taking risks is fine, but making tactical blunders like these can affect the entire tempo of the team.

Scoring problems

Scoring woes have been a recurring issue not just under the Ten Hag era but for almost close to a decade now. To back this up, United have had 27 big chances to score in the Premier League this season, but have missed out on 22 occasions.

Back-up striker needed

Lack of clinical finishing is something that the new Manchester United boss must work on, and he must help the strikers, particularly Zirkzee and Hojlund, reach their full potential. This is an area where Ten Hag never really succeeded.

Joshua Zirkzee is yet to discover his true potential at Manchester United. Reuters Coming back from an injury setback has not helped Hojlund's case, who has struggled to find a consistent rhythm.

There was so much hype around Joshua Zirkzee when he came to United this summer, but his story so far has been disappointing. Zirkzee scored in United's 1-0 win over Fulham in the opening weekend of the Premier League in August, but the former Bayern Munich star has somewhat struggled to cope with the high-intensity, competitive nature of the Premier League.