Harry Maguire has pointed to the defensive improvements made under Ralf Rangnick as a major point of difference since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's departure.
The Red Devils axed the Norwegian back in November after a poor run of form.
Clean sheets were hard to come by, which resulted in Maguire and his teammates copping plenty of criticism.
They shipped four at Watford in Solskjaer's final game having also conceded four at Leicester and five against Liverpool at Old Trafford.
With Rangnick now at the helm United have been far more solid at the back, keeping several clean sheets.
Maguire has hailed the team's efforts, insisting their defensive work extends beyond the back four and the goalkeeper.
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"I think there are lots of different principles that he’s brought into the club," the club captain told United Review.
"But, for sure, we haven’t conceded as many goals, we haven’t conceded as many chances.
"It’s team effort; it’s not a back-four effort, or a goalkeeping effort [alone]. It’s a team effort.
"Our lives are a little bit easier from the way that they [the midfielders and forwards] are working and covering spaces in front of us, so it’s a huge effort from us all.
"But I think there’s still a lot to improve on, especially with the ball now.
"We’ve got to make sure that we carry a little bit more of a threat with the ball and look after the ball a bit better than we have done in recent weeks."
United under Rangnick have kept three clean sheets - one more than they kept under Solskjaer despite playing fewer games.
The German made it clear when he arrived that the team were conceding far too many goals.
He sat in the stands for the first time when United beat Arsenal 3-2 in what was Michael Carrick's first game, but he wanted more control.
"If you look at the total goals conceded, it's two per game, which is too much," Rangnick said in his first press conference.
"I want to bring balance and control within the games and yesterday’s game was obviously exciting for the fans even but, for myself, as the future coach, we don't want those games every time.
"In football, you have to minimise the coincidence factor and to have control on the game. That's my approach, I want to help the outstanding players stay away from their own goal."
United take on Middlesbrough on Friday night in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
