Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Colin Millar

Erik ten Hag continues Man Utd training overhaul as he makes four day-one changes

New Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is implementing changes at the club now that a number of first-team players have returned for pre-season training.

As reported by Mirror Football, the new boss implemented four changes to United's training on his first day in office on Monday. This included more varied training drills to increase teamwork and understanding of team roles and double sessions to increase fitness to match his desired physical demands. He also asked for the grass to be cut to a specific length to improve passing speed and has made it compulsory for players to dine together during training days to bolster team spirit.

Ten Hag held meetings with his new players and staff throughout his opening days while he has now drawn on Sir Alex Ferguson's old demand of players arriving at training sessions at 9am. The Dutchman is renowned for being a disciplinarian and believes these rules will bring greater unity and focus, which will subsequently improve results.

As outlined by the MEN, this aspect at the club had been lost in recent years and was a particular issue under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian was viewed as lacking in conviction to impose strict measures upon his players, who would have usually arrived at the club's Carrington training facilities around 10am.

Ten Hag arrived at the club's training facilities at 8am on Tuesday, shortly after his returning assistant Steve McClaren – who served under Ferguson between 1999 and 2001 – had arrived by car, while Ten Hag's number two Mitchell van der Gaag was also an early arrival.

The returning players all weighed in at 9am, having arrived in groups at 9.30am and 11.30am on Monday to undergo medical tests and assessments on their first day back. This was by demand of Ten Hag, who is expectant that these earlier starts will now become regular.

Have Your Say! Will Ten Hag be able to turn United back into an elite team again? Tell us what you think here.

Ten Hag has overseen his first Man Utd training sessions this week (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)

United players who participated in the recent international break have been given an additional week off, so will not be returning to training until the first week of July. The departures of Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata, Lee Grant, Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani, complemented by no summer signings as yet, ensured that the training numbers were bolstered by Under-21 players.

Ten Hag is inheriting a club that struggled badly on the pitch last season – finishing 11 points off a top-five place in the Premier League – but arguably his biggest challenge is restoring discipline and unity to a dressing room that was a constant source of disharmony and leaks last season.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.