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Erik ten Hag says he will be able to manage the egos in Manchester United's squad as he insists he will be a leader and protect players from criticism

The Manchester United egos will be a major part of the challenge for Erik ten Hag. Even in the week that his appointment as manager was announced, Eric Bailly used Instagram to make a case to start in central defence instead of Harry Maguire.

Ralf Rangnick publicly rebuked the Ivorian defender for that on Friday, though Ten Hag has indicated in his first discussion of his new Old Trafford role that he can make the egos work to his advantage by understanding what makes players tick.

'This [the egos] is the biggest challenge for every trainer-coach at the moment,' he said.