Diogo Dalot believes his game is naturally suited to playing full-back for Erik ten Hag after praising the impact the Manchester United manager has had on him.
The 23-year-old has emerged as United's first-choice right-back this season and he is thriving under Ten Hag, starting 20 successive games before picking up an injury while with Portugal at the World Cup.
Dalot returned to the side for the FA Cup win against Everton on Friday night and is likely to be in the squad for the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Charlton on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Dalot explains how Ten Hag has changed United's mentality after defeats
He has been one of United's standout performers this season and believes he has reaped the rewards for making sure he was physically ready to take his chance under Ten Hag in pre-season.
The Dutchman has demanded high levels of fitness from his squad and in a Q&A session with season ticket holders and supporters club members, he said the manager is demanding that everyone is at their best level physically.
"A lot, as you can imagine," Dalot said when asked about Ten Hag's impact on his form.
"Since I arrived in pre-season I knew I had to be at my best level to play the way that he wants to play.
"I think I fit right in with the type of play and the things he asks me to do on the pitch. I think it suits the way that I like to see football so it helps.
"Obviously, he's a very good manager. He wants every player available and every player at the best level physically so I have to push myself more. Especially more in pre-season because I knew I had to be very good physically to be able to play the way that he wants.
"And then it's just about making progress, trying to learn, listening to what he's asking you to do and I think not only me but you can see the progress in a lot of players, especially collectively, but he is obviously one of the biggest parts of that."
Dalot returned from the World Cup with an injury picked up in Portugal's quarter-final defeat to Morocco, but he has now returned to full fitness.
But he suspects that the true effect of a winter World Cup and what it has taken out of the tanks of players will only become clear later in the season.
"It's curious because I did not know what to expect to be honest. After a World Cup, we never had that. It was also my first World Cup," he said.
"First of all, it was a big experience and a very good experience for me individually but I only - I think that we are only going to take conclusions a bit further than just now.
"For us it's been good since we finished. We had good results, we are performing individually, collectively. It's brought us as much problems as other teams so far so I think it will depend on a lot of circumstances.
"But I think physically, it will be one of the biggest parts of having a tournament in the middle of a season will probably we will have to be cautious a little bit because there was a lot of games. It was a very good competition and a tough competition to play so I hope we continue like this, with all players available, and that will be a good sign."
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