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Manchester United ground staff have been forced to order new mower blades to meet Erik ten Hag's orders for a specific turf height at the club's AON training complex and Old Trafford.

The new United chief had very specific demands for the height and quality of the pitches when he was in charge of Ajax - and even had the help of a BioTech scientist to oversee the pitch at the Johan Cruijff Amsterdam ArenA. And his request to have the grass cut to 15mm to aid speed of passing has meant senior ground-staff had to check the blades they were using on mowers at Carrington and Old Trafford.

They found they needed special blades to achieve the 15mm cut – and have quickly ordered new ones to satisfy perfectionist ten Hag. The 52-year-old Dutchman was known at Ajax as a meticulous planner who left no stone unturned in his quest for marginal gains and squeezing every ounce from his resources.

And true to form he checked the training pitches when he was given a tour of Carrington after completing his move at the end of May. His first job was to ensure the pitches measured up to his requirements after working with expert Joep van Cronenbroek who monitored pitches at Ajax.

Cronenbroek has developed a world-wide reputation for combining the biology and digital technology to maintain and monitor top