Manchester United players Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford have lifted the lid on Erik ten Hag's impact after a half-century of matches as manager.
Thursday's disappointing 2-2 draw with Sevilla in the Europa League quarter-final was the 50th match of Ten Hag's mammoth first season in charge of United. Despite surrendering that lead late on, the Dutchman has still made the strongest start in the club's history by winning 70 per cent of his games in charge so far, a win ratio that far eclipses even Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Matt Busby's initial records.
Ten Hag having the longevity of those two legendary figures would be another achievement entirely, but the early returns are positive. The impact he has already had at Old Trafford is clear - and his players concur too.
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"I just think everyone's willing to fight for the person next to them, and that's how it has to be," Rashford said during the latest episode of TeamViewer Diaries. "If someone makes a mistake, you have to be there to cover. You work as a team and as a collective rather than as individuals. He (Ten Hag) has had a big impact. A lot of changes. It takes time to adapt. For him and the players as well."
Eriksen insisted that the style of play is something that they are still adjusting to. "For me personally, it's more been about seeing his general view of how he will like the team to play," he said of Ten Hag. He will help guide the players in which direction where he wants the players to be. But he's given a lot of cues, and he also gives a lot of freedom to the players to do what they can."
Despite such freedom, Casemiro makes clear Ten Hag keeps everyone on their toes. "He demands a lot from us, he's a very demanding manager," the midfielder explains. "He strives for perfection.
"He's the type of manager who wants the players to always perform to their best. It is important for us to have a manager who always wants to win and doesn't accept anything less than that. That's very important to us, especially for our improvement in games because we know we are still in the process of improving."
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