Erik ten Hag insists Cristiano Ronaldo is "totally committed" to the project he is building at Manchester United and feels the forward is beginning to gel with his style.
Ronaldo suffered a disrupted pre-season, playing just 45 minutes before the season got underway and he's not looked particularly sharp so far this season.
The 37-year-old pushed for a transfer in the summer and also missed much of pre-season for personal reasons, but having remained at Old Trafford he's now gradually finding his feet under Ten Hag.
READ MORE: United player ratings vs Sheriff Tiraspol
He started a second successive game against Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova and finally registered his first goal of the season, scoring from the penalty spot towards the end of the first half.
Ronaldo looked more engaged and celebrated his goal enthusiastically and Ten Hag is seeing commitment from his forward as well as improvements in his link-up with his teammates.
"He’s totally committed to this project, totally committed to this team, totally involved, he also has connections that are coming around him and he is constructing connections so I’m happy with that," he said.
Ronaldo's goal drought this season had spanned just over five-a-half-hours and he's lost his place in the Premier League team, but Ten Hag is confident the goals will flow when his fitness improves.
"We could expect this when you miss pre-season, he has to work really hard and invest to get the right fitness. He will score more goals. He’s really close, when he gets more fitness he will score more," he said.
READ NEXT:
