'The toughness is back' - What Erik ten Hag has brought to Manchester United

Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has praised Erik ten Hag's 'toughness' in the early stages of his era at Old Trafford.

United returned from their pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia this week which they left undefeated following victories over Liverpool, Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace plus a draw against Aston Villa. The Reds continued their positive start to pre-season with a 4-1 win over Wrexham in a behind closed doors friendly at Carrington on Wednesday.

It has not been totally plain-sailing for Ten Hag this pre-season with the future of Cristiano Ronaldo still up in the air while the transfer saga surrounding Frenkie de Jong continues to rumble on. However, speaking to the Metro, Saha said he was pleased by the Dutchman's fresh approach.

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"That’s completely fair – when the rules are in place you have to follow them," he explained. "Especially at this moment in time where it’s so important to recalibrate the philosophy and attitude of the squad, so it has to be done as a military camp.

"So if it’s happened twice, it warrants the action so the other players can see this manager doesn’t mess around. You have to set expectations and when opportunities present themselves to set standards, it’s right the manager should use the tools at his disposal to lay down the law.

"They are ultimately workers, employees. As a manager you do everything to make sure they are in line."

"You wouldn’t accept anyone else turning up to work late in any other industry so it’s completely fair." Saha added: "I think right now he’s not made many mistakes.

"His communication, maybe some people will dislike it, but they’re not in his position and you can’t