Erik ten Hag has spoken on how he is getting to know his Manchester United squad during pre-season, and their response to his training methods.
With two fixtures under his belt, the Dutch manager is starting to get to know his United squad ahead of the Premier League season.
After beginning initial training on 27 June, Ten Hag has now spent around three weeks with the squad, and he has detailed the importance of this integration period.
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With a new club, it is vital that a manager is able to learn about the individuals in his squad, and United's new man in charge has been able to do exactly that during the club's pre-season tour.
"You learn the characters and their behaviour tells you something about the character," he told the club website.
"That’s good to know. You work with them on the pitch and you know a lot of the player but then you also want to know the background of the players.
"That is ideal in a situation when you’re together for one week. That is perfect."
Sir Alex Ferguson was the very best for a number of reasons. One of those was how he could deal with each and every player in his team.
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Stories before have explained his different approach for different personalities, and it seems that Ten Hag wants to be able to work a similar way in that regard.
"It’s good to know and it’s good [to learn] what is the best approach to a player, because you want to [make them] feel comfortable."
In addition to getting to know his team behind the scenes, Ten Hag will also be using this period to see how they can adapt to his playing style.
There is no secret that the Dutch manager has been ruthless so far, with a number of players explaining the intense nature of his training methods.
However, Ten Hag has revealed that they have dealt well with the pressure to adapt so far, but stresses that this is only the beginning of the process.
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"The players in the team do really well and they respond well to practising, the exercises, to the game plan and to the principles we present on them.
"So you see something is rising. Are we happy with it? It’s a starting point.
"We are not three weeks under way, so there’s a long way to go and there’s a lot of room for improvement. We know that, but until now the guys do really well."
With two impressive wins against Liverpool and Melbourne Victory, it is apparent that there has been strides taken in the correct direction.
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But as the manager stresses, this is a long project with serious change needed in the playing style.
United fans will be hoping to see more signs of this progression as the team take on Crystal Palace in their next pre-season fixture on Tuesday.
Featured Image Credit: Manchester UnitedTopics: Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Football, Premier League, Liverpool