Erik ten Hag shouted at 19-year-old Manchester United prospect Zidane Iqbal for his work on the ball in open pre-season training, calling the youngster's sequence "f*cking rubbish". It was the latest example of the Dutch head coach acting as a no-nonsense disciplinarian since taking over - last month, he yelled at the team for not passing crisply in practice and appeared furious late in their recent pre-season match against Crystal Palace.
But midfielder Bruno Fernandes has said the harsh approach is good for the team after a dreadful 2021-22 campaign. The Portugal international claimed he had "no problems" with Ten Hag's style.
Manchester United have fared well so far as they prepare for the new season, winning all three of their exhibition matches.
Ten Hag shouts at Zidane Iqbal
Fernandes' comments on Ten Hag
"We missed that for a while and discipline is important," he stated to ESPN this week. "Discipline is not only the way you play, the position that you have, what you have to do, it’s also off the pitch. Don’t be late for the meetings, don’t be late for the meals.
"That’s really important because if everyone is on time and someone comes late, he should be punished. That’s really good that he’s doing that and amazing, because I like to be on time, so I won’t have problems with that."
Next Match
Up next for Man Utd
The Red Devils have three more tune-up matches this month. They will meet Aston Villa on Saturday before facing Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano.
Their Premier League campaign begins on August 7 against Brighton.