Former Manchester United midfielder Quinton Fortune has revealed what Sir Alex Ferguson told him at Carrington recently which could be key to Erik ten Hag’s time in charge of the club.
Ten Hag has begun working on his plans for next season as he officially starts work as United’s new manager. Although the 52-year-old is not expected to arrive at Carrington before the final game of the season at Crystal Palace, he is already engaged with the club on his pre-season preparations.
Ahead of his arrival, Ten Hag has already singled out managing the United dressing room as one of his priorities at the club. The Reds have been dogged with reports of discontent among the squad throughout the season, leading to what has been a disastrous campaign.
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“It’s time to turn the switch now,” Ten Hag said. “It’s something that is needed because there is a lot to take care of and I have the energy for it.
“What it’s all about is the dressing room, you need to be able to manage the dressing room. You have to make it function. That’s how you win games.”
As he looks to repair a fractured dressing room, he may well look to take on some advice from United’s greatest ever manager. Ahead of stepping out on the Old Trafford turf once again for the Legends of the North game against Liverpool on Sunday, Fortune got the chance to speak to Ferguson once again, with the Scot revealing the key to his own success at the club.
"First of all, it's good to sign Erik ten Hag up because we have the manager now for the next three years, three-and-a-half years, and what he first needs to do is create a good team spirit,” Fortune told the club’s media.
"I was very fortunate to listen to the boss [Sir Alex Ferguson] at Carrington a few weeks ago and he mentioned a simple thing like the team spirit we had, when we ate together at the canteen. It's something very simple, that a lot of people miss out, but that created that bond - not just in the players but everyone in the staff at Carrington.
"It played an important part of a successful club to create the team spirit because we have amazing individuals, as you can see, but we're not always playing as a team. We want players to want to come to Carrington and put on a red jersey. We know the talent is there.
"The style of football, which I'm sure he'll implement, needs time and to bring in the right characters but create a team that is going to play for each other, play for the club and enjoy it. We need players to go out there with a smile on their face and, when you do that, everything else follows."
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