Wayne Rooney has been enormously impressed with Erik ten Hag's impact at Manchester United ahead of what could be the Dutchman's first trophy at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag leads United into Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United at Wembley poised to end the club's six-year trophy drought.
The Dutchman has also guided the club into the last-16 of the Europa League after Thursday's impressive win against Barcelona, while they are still in the FA Cup and head into this weekend just five points off the top of the Premier League table.
It has been a remarkable impact from the former Ajax boss following United's previous struggles under the likes of Ralf Rangnick, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho, whose reign as the last United boss to lift silverware could soon be over.
Rooney has been thrilled with what he has seen at his former club, and says the players are responding to Ten Hag's methods.
"He’s exactly what Manchester United have needed for a few years now,’ Rooney, the manager of MLS side DC United, told ESPN.
"I’ve been down to the training ground quite a few times, especially in the [MLS] off-season when I was back home in England, and spoke to quite a few of the players.
"I know the players are enjoying working under him, which is always important, but he demands a lot of his players.
"I think he’s changed the mindset and the confidence and belief of the players, that they’re actually a good team, and I think people are starting to see that this season, and they’re in a good position.
"They’re five points off the top spot, you know there’s still a lot of games to go… so you never know."
Ten Hag himself is keen to play down United's progress, stating that they can only be judged on trophy success.
"It's not success but the road to success," he said at a press conference on Friday.
"It's only success when you win trophies. On Sunday we have an opportunity to have a success.
"We have a squad we use and when we play four competitions we need a squad, you can't do it with 11 players - both from the load point of view but also the tactical.
"We can choose formations that we think are most effective.
"We are in the process where everyone believes.
"We go game to game but you see the direction that we have to follow that line to improve, to beat the best.
"It is a great opportunity to get the silverware [on Sunday]. It's all about that. It's about glory and honour in football. We deserve to play the final and have a great opportunity to win the cup.
"We have to put everything in to get that cup to Manchester. It's clear, you can feel that we are really waiting for it [end trophy drought].
"We are doing everything we can to give fans their honour."
