Erik ten Hag will demand his Manchester United players cut out the sloppiness which afflicted them last season as he ushers in a new era at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman, 52, joins the Red Devils after a hugely-successful spell in his homeland managing Ajax. During four-and-a-half years at the helm, he led the Amsterdam giants to three Eredivisie titles, two Dutch cups and the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.
Ten Hag forged a reputation for playing attractive, high-intensity football which requires his players to be in peak mental and physical condition. As exclusively reported by Mirror Sport, he has ordered many of the players who bitterly underperformed last campaign to return from their holidays early and begin a rigorous pre-season training regime.
During the first sessions in charge of his new squad, Ten Hag is expected to emphasise precise passing and imprint his tireless mentality on the whole of the club, not just the first team. The Athletic reports that he was often seen barking instructions and encouragement to Ajax's academy players even after he had finished working with his senior stars for the day.
It is this relentless dedication and attention to detail that convinced Old Trafford chiefs to appoint Ten Hag over Mauricio Pochettino, who was the front runner for the hot seat for a time. Ten Hag impressed his new bosses by presenting them with a detiled dossier profiling every member of the squad and highlighting player fitness as a key area which needs improving.
Therefore, it is no surprise that the new United boss has ordered some of last season's underachievers to cut their holidays short and return to the club's Carrington base for pre-season training ahead of schedule. Ten Hag will also hope to welcome some new additions to the squad ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
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He is understood to have identified central midfield and up front as the two priority areas to strengthen through signings during the summer transfer window. Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong is the Red Devils' principal target but they failed with their opening bid to try and reunite the Dutchman with his former Ajax manager.
United are expected to return with an improved offer for the 25-year-old but, should they be unsuccessful again, they could turn to Leicester's Youri Tielemans or Wolves ' Ruben Neves. Both Premier League midfielders are set to pursue new challenges this summer and they have been linked with moves to the Old Trafford club, who will wave goodbye to Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata this month.
