New Manchester United assistant manager Steve McClaren has promised Red Devils fans that he will help build a ‘winning culture’ at the club.
Ever since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, United have been in freefall. Therefore, newly-appointed boss Erik ten Hag is keen to completely shake up the club as part of a major rebuild at the club so that it can regain its status as a title contender.
Several players have already departed Old Trafford, with the likes of Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Nemanja Matic all leaving as free agents. And the Red Devils have been linked with numerous transfer targets as Ten Hag looks to sprinkle some fresh faces into the dressing room.
But it is not just players that will need to change at the Theatre of Dreams, the overall feeling at the club must improve if they are to progress. And former England manager McClaren believes that he and the staff at the club can achieve that, he told the McClaren Performance Podcast : “These are the things that we need to do, things like we all need to connect with each other.
“Games are won Monday to Friday, if you get Monday to Friday right, games are won on Saturday. Each and everyone has to bring energy.
“We’re going into Manchester United and having to create that [winning] culture, a culture and that’s one of the most fascinating things.” It remains to be seen how Ten Hag and his team go about changing the mentality at United and whether more players will be offloaded if they are unable to buy into the vision of the staff.
McClaren later hinted in the podcast, presented by his son, that there will be high expectations of everyone in the squad and that they must meet demands on a regular basis. He continued: “A lot of people now, body language arms up in the air, you've got to react to get that ball back, win that ball back, whatever situation, react quick don't think about it.
“You've got to accept the rules, the conditions, you've got to accept the consequences if you do things wrong. You've got to commit, you've got to be a class act. You've got to be a class act, especially in today's football.”
United will be keen to buy players that are capable of being role models both on and off the pitch, which may be why Ten Hag is so keen to reunite with those who he has worked with previously. The former Ajax boss is keen to pinch Jurrien Timber and Antony from the club that he left this summer.
He is also pushing to bring Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong to the Premier League and is hoping that the higher powers at United can strike a deal with the La Liga outfit. Ten Hag brought De Jong into the first team as a raw prospect and gave him the platform to showcase that he was one of the most exciting young talents in world football.
