Dwight Yorke believes his former club Manchester United were at their lowest ebb before Erik ten Hag arrived earlier this summer.
The Red Devils picked up their first win of the season Monday night as they defeated Liverpool 2-1 at Old Trafford. It's been a tough start to life for new manager Erik ten Hag, who suffered humbling defeats to Brighton and Brentford in his first two games.
Despite some worrying results earlier in Ten Hag's tenure, Yorke believes the Dutchman has revitalised the club. United haven't won a trophy since their Europa League success in May 2017 and finished sixth in the Premier League last season, picking up just 58 points.
When asked by Lord Ping, Yorke admitted he was confident that United are back to winning ways. He also highlighted the work of Ten Hag's assistant Steve McClaren. The former England manager worked alongside Ten Hag at Twente during the 2008/09 campaign.
Yorke has also worked with McClaren, who was Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant between 1999 and 2001. During that time, United won three consecutive Premier League titles and an illustrious treble in '99 - all achieved while Yorke was an integral member of the squad.
"I see it slightly differently after I completed my pro licence, which was a few months ago," said Yorke when asked. "I spent some time at United, towards the end of the season. Walking in there, it felt like the club was on its knees.
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"Everybody knew the club was in a really bad way last season, but I saw the scale of it after seeing it with my own eyes. I spent ten days at United, talking to people and learning as much as I could. I was very lucky to have the club give me that level of access, but it made me aware of all of the issues inside the club.
"I thought the club was in a really bad place. I knew whoever came in as manager, had a really massive job on his hands. I knew the club needed to make drastic changes - the entire club needed to reset its mentality because they had lost it for a period of time.
"He’s gone in and been quite clever in bringing in Steve McClaren, someone Erik feels comfortable with and someone that was part of the coaching team for some of the most successful teams in United’s history. That was a good appointment.
"I understand why the appointment of McClaren raised a few eyebrows, but when you become a manager, you have to trust the people in and around you, to give you the best advice, those tough decisions.
"I don’t know Erik ten Hag, but I heard good things about him and he has a good record in Holland, but of course, doing it in Holland and doing it at Manchester United are two very different things. He wouldn't have realised how big a club United were until we walked through the door.
"United can eat you alive if you don't embrace the challenge. I think he needs to remember to trust his ability, trust the changes he has made."
