Bruno Fernandes compares United’s new manager Erik ten Hag to Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp for bringing a special philosophy and discipline to Old Trafford.
Ten Hag was installed as Manchester United’s new manager in May. The Dutchman will be given as much time as possible to put his stamp on the club. Things got off to a disastrous start for the Dutchman, however, when he became the first United manager to lose his first two games in 101 years.
Since then, however, the tide has turned and United have now picked up four straight Premier League wins and worked their way up the table.
The improved performances show the side have developed a new identity, much like Guardiola and Klopp did at Manchester City and Liverpool respectively. In contrast, at United this was completely absent among previous managers.
“First of all, he has an idea. He has a style. You have to follow his rules. He’s very strict about that. And I like that. He brought discipline and that’s something I think we’ve missed in the past . Everyone has to be on the same page,” Fernandes told The Athletic.
“It’s what Pep and Klopp have been doing for years. They have stability at the club and in the way they choose transfers and build the team, which is really important for them to reap the rewards,” he added added.
Ten Hag previously spent a year working under Guardiola at Bayern Munich where he managed the club’s reserve team, so it’s logical their philosophies are similar.
United were criticized over the summer for making relatively few signings overall (5) after former interim boss Ralf Rangnick said last season that the squad needed “open-heart surgery” and about ten new players to be competitive. Fernandes reinforced ten Hag’s mantra that quality is more important than quantity at this stage of the project.
“I saw the manager say in a press conference that we don’t just want to bring in players for their own sake, we want the right players for what we’re doing. It’s something the club needs,” continued Fernandes .
“We still have room to improve and he needs time to get the best out of us with his game idea. I believe that with him we will get to the point where we are established as a team and all at one pull together.”
This article was originally published on 90min.com as Bruno Fernandes compares ten Hag to Klopp and Guardiola.
