“Of course we love it”: Rene Hake’s family buzzing with his appointment as Man United coach

The loved ones of new Manchester United coach Rene Hake have expressed their delight with his appointment at the club.

Earlier this month, United officially confirmed the arrival of both Hake and Ruud van Nistelrooy as the latest additions to Erik ten Hag’s backroom staff.

The two were essentially brought in as the replacements for Mitchell van der Gaag and Benni McCarthy, both of whom have since parted ways with the club.

United secured Hake’s services from Eredivisie club Go Ahead Eagles.

Hake guided Go Ahead Eagles to ninth spot in the Netherlands top flight, which was their best finish since the 1970s. As a result, the club clinched a play-off spot for the UEFA Conference League.

The 52-year-old held youth roles at Emmen and Twente before making the step-up to become head coach of the latter in 2010.

He then had a spell as an assistant coach at Zwolle. He proceeded to make a return to FC Utrecht in 2015. At Utrecht, Hake worked together with Ten Hag, who was the boss at the time.

Hake moved on from Utrecht and joined Cambuur in the second-tier Eerste Divisie, in 2018/19. He then went back to Jong Utrecht (the reserves). John van der Brom’s exit saw Hake rise through the ranks to assume the hot seat. It’s from here that he got the Go Ahead Eagles job in 2022.

He previously opened up on how excited he was to complete a switch to United and now, his family have revealed just how elated they’ve also been with Hake’s appointment at Old Trafford.

Dagblad van het Noorden, via Utrecht Fans relay some comments from Hake’s parents Rudolf and Hanny.

“He said: ‘I’m going to England, to Manchester United’. Well, that kept us quiet for a while,” said Rudolf.

“We had not counted on that. We had the feeling that something was going on in the field of football. We thought maybe he will go to a German club. Germany always attracted him. We never really thought about England and Manchester United.”

Hanny added, “But of course we love it. Manchester United is not just any club, is it?”

“The whole family is pleased with it, as are many people in the village. When I went swimming recently, I was asked if I should go to England. Someone also asked if we already had a house in Manchester. Well, no.”

“But of course we would like to go to a match soon. A league or cup match against Liverpool, that seems the best option. I have already looked into whether we can fly there from Eelde, but unfortunately that is not possible not.”

Hake has already been in the dugout for two of United’s pre-season clashes against Rosenborg and more recently, vs. Rangers at Murrayfield.

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