Anthony Elanga: Man Utd 'really buying into' Erik ten Hag methods
By Tom Gott
Anthony Elanga has confessed that the Manchester United squad have already been captivated by the methods of new manager Erik ten Hag and assistants Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren.
Ten Hag moved to United this summer and has embarked on a rebuild of a squad which slumped to sixth in the Premier League table last season thanks to their lowest points total in the competition's history.
Fans are in agreement that there is a lot of work to be done this summer, and young winger Elanga has now admitted that the squad are already making massive steps forward under the new management.
"We’ve been working a lot, not just on the ball but off the ball as well," Elanga revealed. "We know we weren’t as fit last season. I think we are even fitter this season, running for the team, running off the ball, running with the ball, so that elemental running and pressing is really important.
"That’s one of the things the manager has brought into the team and we are really buying into it."
On Ten Hag's influence, Elanga added: "It’s enormous. The new manager has come in so we need to buy into his details and this new philosophy of playing and his managerial style, so yeah we are all really buying into it. We are taking it session by session and it’s been really good.
"It's not just him, it’s Mitch and Steve as well. And they are all trying to help us as a team, not just as individuals, going into details, like the way we play out from the back and how we play in the final third as well because it’s all information that we have to soak in and I think that so far we are doing really well with it.
"Since the start he’s just brought good energy and the team has bought into it. We’ve all been enjoying every single game, the sessions, It’s all about taking it step by step. We are all really looking forward to the season but we’ve got pre-season first."
Midfielder Scott McTominay has also spoken about pre-season under Ten Hag, describing the summer as 'one of the most difficult' of his career so far.