Erik ten Hag has assured Roy Keane that his team are ready to fight ahead of Sunday's Manchester derby - unlike the side Ralf Rangnick took to the Etihad Stadium seven months ago.
Rangnick's Manchester United were thrashed 4-1 on derby day in March, the German coach's only clash with City during his nightmare tenure as the Red Devils' interim manager. Rangnick and co were outclassed by the Premier League champions, prompting a quintessential post-match rant from United legend Keane.
"The worst thing you can say about Man Utd is that they gave up, in any game to give up is unforgivable really," the former Red Devils captain fumed on Sky Sports. "The beauty with top-level sports is that there is no hiding place, I know United have come here in the last couple of years and done well but we saw all of United's shortcomings today.
"There's ways to lose football matches, we've all lost football matches but the way United lost today – they stopped running, they gave up, players not running back, that’s what I don't understand. The manager will get criticised, the tactics but players not running back – it's really unacceptable and they threw the towel in which is shameful."
Now in the dawn of a new era, Ten Hag's task is to answer critics like Keane with a performance worthy of the famous badge - regardless of the result. Asked earlier this week to reveal what United supporters can look forward to from their team on Sunday, the Red Devils boss declared: "Expect a team that is well-prepared, a team that has the right spirit and fight to battle the opponent and a team that has only one belief to win that game."
Ten Hag added: ''We want to play our game and that is clear. With our principles and rules, we always respect the opponent; it doesn't matter the opponent. We will try to play our game.''
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Recently handed the Premier League's Manager of the Month award for a resurgent run of form in September, the Dutch tactician is firmly focussed on keeping up his own team's performance levels - even if it means not being fixated on City's sensational 14-goal striker, Erling Haaland.
"I respect him but for us on Sunday we are not playing against Haaland, we are playing against Man City and for us, it's not about Man City. It is about us and them being an opponent," Ten Hag affirmed. ''We want to play our game and that is clear. With our principles and rules, we always respect the opponent; it doesn't matter the opponent. We will try to play our game.''
