Ten Hag: ‘You can feel the winning mentality throughout the club’

Erik ten Hag on…

…his impressions of Bayer 04: I'm really happy to be here and I’ve had a warm reception. The discussions with the management were very good. I've been following the Bundesliga and Bayer 04 for a long time. The club has always been innovative and has taken big steps towards becoming an absolute title contender over recent years. You can feel the winning mentality, that's been created, everywhere throughout the club.

…his style of play: I want to win and in a certain way: with dominant, attractive football that excites people. Together with the players, staff and, above all, the fans I would like to build and develop something here. Off the pitch and in the dressing room for me it's primarily about having a great team spirit.

…a potential turnover of players: Players will definitely leave but that's all part of the business. I'm absolutely certain we’ll have a fantastic squad and I look forward to that with great enthusiasm. At the end of the day it's about developing players and building a team that can be successful together.

…his coaching staff at Bayer 04: We will talk about that in more depth in the coming days to sort out the details. We haven't had the time for that yet.

…his predecessor Xabi Alonso: There's no doubt that Xabi has achieved great and historical things here. The situation he found here was already very good because very capable people work here. Of course, the coach is a key figure but it always comes down to many people working together.

…the coming days and weeks: I started as a coach straight after my career as a player and have done it non-stop for 22 years. The recent break did me good and gave me time to reflect. Therefore, I'm now full of energy and I want to settle in as soon as possible. The next days and weeks will obviously involve lots of discussions.

Rolfes: "WE wanted to bring in erik from ajax in 2021"

Simon Rolfes on…

…contact with Erik ten Hag: We were in contact a long time ago. We wanted to bring in him from Ajax early in 2021 but unfortunately it didn't work out. His style of play with dominant, offensive and high quality football absolutely suits Bayer 04 as does his great energy and his enormous wealth of experience. Erik has shown with players like Frenkie de Jong and Ryan Gravenberch that he can bring through talent at a top international level. We are happy to be able to welcome him here now.

…the developments in the coaching position over recent months: We sat down with Xabi during the international break. At that point he was unable to say certain whether he would be the coach here again next season. Then we began to look around. We kept that process going and started the final phase when Xabi told us he had decided to join Real Madrid. The whole thing with Erik then went through really quickly.

…the connection between Dutch and German football: Of course, we also look beyond the borders. Dutch football has always stood for an offensive and high-quality style of play that thrills people. That is also our approach and our desire. In that respect Bayer 04 has always been close to Dutch football.

…rumours about the transfer of Florian Wirtz: Flo is currently a Bayer 04 player. There's no doubt there is great interest in him. There is concrete interest from Liverpool but nothing has been decided. There's no latest news.

…the coming days and weeks: Now the coaching position is sorted we will carry on with detailed planning in terms of the squad. Of course, we will really get stuck in now. There will be changes in the team but that's good as well. We want to put together a squad where there is a new spirit and new hunger to win trophies. That is and remains our clear target. And Erik has shown he can do that again and again at his previous clubs. We want to write a new chapter.

Press release: Erik ten Hag is the new Bayer 04 head coach

Profile: The experienced trophy collector Erik ten Hag