Ten Hag was nicknamed 'Mini Pep' when being Bayern's reserve team coach

When Erik ten Hag was being shown around Bayern Munich's training complex upon accepting the role of second team coach in 2013, his eye was drawn to one particular inspirational quote on the wall.

'When good is no longer good enough, you have to make it better,' it read.

It is the wisdom of legendary Bayern coach Dettmar Cramer, who guided the German club to European Cup glory in 1975 and 1976, and it struck a chord with the Dutchman.

It may also be a trademarked motto for Bayern as an institution as they continue to dominate the German football scene and prepare for another assault on the Champions League.

This week, Ten Hag takes a Manchester United team for whom the 'no longer good enough' part might be more applicable to the Allianz Arena for a daunting opening group stage assignment.

While there, Ten Hag will doubtless reflect on the two years he spent in Bavaria, a very useful stepping stone on his coaching journey in which he learned much about setting the highest of standards and bounced tactical ideas around with Pep Guardiola.

Indeed Ten Hag has described the chance to work on a daily basis in Guardiola's orbit as 'like winning the lottery' and explained why he left a Go Ahead Eagles side he'd just taken into the Dutch top-flight to coach a reserve team.

Being the same height, roughly the same age and with a similar 'hairstyle', it was no wonder Ten Hag was nicknamed 'Mini Pep' during his time at Bayern.

Despite the first and second teams training on a adjacent pitches at Sabener Strasse, Ten Hag has been at pains to stress he didn't spend every day chatting about inverted wingers or adaptable full-backs with Guardiola.

But he said of that time: 'Pep Guardiola is of course one of the world's best trainers. His teams