Daley Blind gave assurances to Manchester United over major Erik ten Hag concern

Former Manchester United defender Daley Blind gave assurances to his old club that Erik ten Hag is tough enough to deal with the Red Devils’ problematic squad, according to reports.

United look set to miss out on Champions League football next season after suffering back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal, and they are now six points adrift of the Gunners despite having played a game more.

After that defeat at the Emirates, United legend Paul Scholes revealed that contract rebel Jesse Lingard had slammed the atmosphere in the dressing room.

‘It is an absolute mess,’ said Scholes on DAZN. ‘It is a disaster of a dressing room. I had a quick chat with Jesse the other day and I’m sure he won’t mind me saying that the dressing room is just a disaster.’

Managing United’s increasingly toxic dressing room, as well as the plethora of egos in the squad, promises to be one of Ten Hag’s biggest challenges – and something he has little experience of.

The demands at Ajax and United are dramatically different while he has never managed a player with the profile of, say, Cristiano Ronaldo, with Ten Hag much more used to working with a young group of players many of whom came through the Amsterdam club’s academy.

That has been one of the big question marks that has hung over the decision to appoint the 52-year-old, but, according to the Manchester Evening News, those fears were allayed by Blind.

The 32-year-old Dutch defender spent four years at Old Trafford before returning to Ajax in 2018, where he has worked under Ten Hag ever since.

Blind, who has stayed in contact with a number of people at United, has assured those at the club that Ten Hag is a good man manager and can be ‘firm’ with players when required, and he is