Detailed Report Reveals The Five Rules Shaping Erik Ten Hag's Regime At Manchester United

Erik ten Hag is attempting to bring the good times back to Manchester United by implementing five rules.

The 52-year-old was appointed as United's new manager in April and immediately got to work by demanding a report on every player, including details on where they were going on holiday.

United returned to pre-season last week and although it's early days, the Dutchman is already putting his imprint on the team and bringing about plenty of change.

As per an in-depth report from The Sun, there are five main expectations Ten Hag has from the group and he's already made them very clear.

They are as follows:

Pass forwards - sideways and backwards will not be tolerated

The former Ajax boss does not accept passive passing and demands that it be crisp and at a high tempo. Already clips of training have shown Ten Hag calling out "soft passes" and it's said that those who pass sideways and backwards will be subbed off without hesitation.

"Unacceptable" body language and fitness must be improved on

The poor body language from players was a huge talking point from United players last season, with constant strops and flailing arms when things weren't going to plan.

Ten Hag has told the players he won't stand for it going forward and also wants fitness levels to be raised in order to meet his standards.

No dressing room cliques

There was also talk of the United dressing room becoming fractured last season over the captaincy, with Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo allegedly at the centre of it.

Ten Hag wants complete togetherness and has made it compulsory that players eat and mix together after training sessions.

Opportunities for youngsters to oust first-teamers

During his time at Ajax, Ten Hag handed 21 debuts to players and likes a lot of the young guns at United.

It was reported that Ten Hag set up with an MUTV subscription so he could see 17-year-old Argentine starlet Alejandro Garnacho star in the FA Youth Cup final, while he's also been impressed by Hannibal Mejbri and Zidane Iqbal, both 19.

On the latter, it's claimed that he can't understand why the midfielder hasn't played more games.

Young players will be given opportunities and get a look in ahead of the senior professionals if they aren't pulling their weight.

Medals and reputation irrelevant for team selection, solely training performance

Ten Hag doesn't care for past achievements and medal hauls. Instead, his team selection will only be affected by how players are performing in training sessions in the build-up to games.

A source told The Sun there has been a "spring in everyone’s step" in regards to the players who have returned following a dismal sixth-placed finish last term.

In other alterations from the new boss, Ten Hag has channeled his inner Sir Alex Ferguson by ordering players turn up to training for 9am and also instructed ground staff to trim the grass to exactly 15mm in order to allow the players to get up to speed to his philosophy.

Featured Image Credit: Image: Manchester United

Topics: Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Premier League

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

@joshlawless_