Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag makes Bruno Fernandes captaincy claim

Erik ten Hag believes Bruno Fernandes has been inspired by the Manchester United captaincy this week after his fine goal earned all three points at Southampton.

The Portuguese midfielder capped a fine team goal with a superb finish to give United back-to-back wins for the first time since February and only the third time this calendar year.

Fernandes was an impressive performer when he wore the armband in the win against Liverpool on Monday and while he was inconsistent at St Mary's, he produced one of the few moments of real quality in the game.

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The 27-year-old has captained United in both of those wins, with Harry Maguire relegated to the bench, and Ten Hag believes the armband has brought the best out of Fernandes.

"This gives him an impulse, the captaincy. We saw it on Monday, where he played a great game, especially the physical part, creating chances," he said.

"Today he brought the same on the pitch and the finish was really fantastic. I would also mention it was a team goal, we played it really well on the right side. I think it came out of a switch [of play]."

Ten Hag has had to sacrifice some of his principles to build confidence in his United side and he admits there is still plenty more to come from his team.

"There is a lot of room for improvement, that is quite clear. For me it is normal. When you come in a season it is always tough," he said.

"That is one. The second is I’m new, the cooperation with the team is new, it’s a new way of play. A lot of new factors and will not go 100% from the start, but we have to get results and win games.

"That is what we did today and I'm happy with that. We’re much more aware of what are the laws of football. What we