When you’re the manager of arguably England’s most popular Football club, every action undergoes scrutiny and observation.
Just ask Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag, whose mannerisms have become an odd topic of discussion online.
Be it his normally reserved demeanour or his actions on the touchline, fans online have put everything under the lens in an effort to learn more about the enigmatic Dutchman.
And now, they’ve discovered one of his neat little quirks and it all has to do with how Ten Hag concludes interviews.
The habit seemingly began after United’s 6-3 defeat against Manchester City, following which, the 52-year-old ended his post-match interview in a very unique manner.
Right as the presenter wrapped things up and thanked Ten Hag for his thoughts, the Dutchman responded with a solitary ‘please’ coupled with an affirmative nod.
Initially thought to be a one-off occasion, Ten Hag continued to end all of his subsequent interviews in the same manner.
A fan even compiled all the instances together, and the clip had users online scratching their heads.
‘Please’ is obviously a very strange departure from ‘thank you’ which is viewed as the more socially acceptable response, and is also used by almost every other manager.
Fortunately, a few of his fellow Dutchmen in the comments provided an explanation for those unfamiliar. And as it turns out, ‘Please’ simply has different meanings in the Dutch language.
When translated please comes out to be ‘alsjeblieft’, which also means ‘no problem’ in their dialect. This is likely the variation Ten Hag looks to be employing, and it is certainly an apt method to conclude interviews.
The former Ajax boss will likely be made aware of the English meaning pretty soon, but judging by fan replies, the United faithful actually seem to enjoy the quirk.
Of course, this has more to do with the way Ten Hag has seemingly turned United’s fortunes around.
Although, it does say quite a bit about how impressed fans are with his overall character.