Former Manchester United centre-back Jaap Stam has warned interim manager Ralf Rangnick that he faces something of a challenge in his attempts to win the trust of the club's most senior players.
The Dutchman, who represented United between 1998 and 2001, made the admission ahead of the Reds' dramatic 1-0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, in which Marcus Rashford netted a 93rd-minute winner to clinch all three points.
Victory for United clinched a sixth win in ten games under the stewardship of Rangnick so far, meaning the German has enjoyed a steady start to life in the role, even though it is still felt that there is a lot more to come in terms of United's performance levels, with their recent displays having come under heavy criticism.
But whilst Rangnick is looking to implement his own style of play and put his stamp of authority on proceedings, Stam believes the experienced German coach could struggle to win over big-name stars such as Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"A squad with players like Ronaldo, Pogba, [Bruno] Fernandes and [Edinson] Cavani is something completely different than a continental team full of young players," Stam said, as quoted by the Mirror.
"These United players require a whole different way of man-management.
"These are older and more experienced lads at the highest level of football and they have their own opinion.
"It is a fair job to convince them that your philosophy is right before they are prepared to put that into practice on the pitch.
"Players of that calibre look at the manager in a different way.
"They are expecting more. They expect you to deliver more, they look at the way you handle them and what you have to say. They are not kids."
Like most Premier League squads nowadays, United is not light on players from abroad. For Stam, he believes those players need to understand the importance of giving 100 per cent in every single game to thrive in English football.
He continued: "The failure of many continental players in the Premier League lies in the fact that they are not used to the high intensity in English football.
"In England you have to give 100 per cent in eight out of ten games.
"In Dutch football, for example, a good player only needs to give that 100 per cent in two out of ten games.
"So the physical strength is lacking, they are not used to the continuous pace when they arrive in the Premier League."
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