Daley Blind backs Erik ten Hag to turn Man United into “a machine” in frank interview | OneFootball

Former Manchester United star Daley Blind has backed Erik ten Hag to return the club to the pinnacle of football and restore glory at Old Trafford.

Blind spoke to The Athletic and opened up on a number of topics including his life at United, Ten Hag, Jose Mourinho and how he is currently fairing at Girona.

The Netherlands international revealed that when he left United to return to Ajax, Ten Hag was “important to him” and was crucial in helping him fit into the side.

Blind explained that the most impressive thing about Ten Hag is his intelligence and tactical awareness.

“I had my doubts but after a month I was sold on it and believed in every part of it. We also had the right players to do it. He is tactically so clear in what he wants and it’s easy for players to follow that. If you leave things open, there’s a space for doubt.”

“We became like a machine, better and better. In time, he can do that for United. He’s a great manager, great personality. He’s direct, honest, and tells you what he sees. He’s not afraid to make big decisions. If you don’t like it, you can go another way because his train goes on.”

Blind also spoke at length about two stars who are contracted to the Red Devils at the moment – Andre Onana and Lisandro Martinez.

On Onana, the 33-year-old remarked that he is “one of the great goalkeepers in the world.” As per the Girona man, Onana is “nonchalant and complete” and when he puts his head down and focuses, there is no one better than the Cameroonian in the business.

On Martinez, Blind told Andy Mitten, “In England, you have an image of how each player should look and how the physical part of the player should be, but football these days is so much more than that. The typical English way of football isn’t seen in the Premier League anymore. So many managers from abroad have brought their different types of football to the table. Matches are now very tactical and about being in the right position.”

“For example, with Lisandro Martinez (United’s 5ft 9in former Ajax centre-back), he has this intelligence but also an aggression — he’s strong. People like to talk about his height when something goes wrong but he is so good on and off the ball that his height is not an issue. Martinez is a great player. He’s clever enough to stand his ground in the Premier League and it was the same for me.”

Blind added, “I didn’t have the aggression of Martinez or (Nemanja) Vidic, and I didn’t have the height of Smalling when I played alongside him, but I was in the right position nine times out of 10.”

The defender expressed to The Athletic his sympathy for Donny van de Beek, who has had his life at Old Trafford disrupted by injuries.

He however warned that things at United are constantly moving and a club of that size “doesn’t wait for anyone.”

Blind was questioned about what life was like under Louis van Gaal in England.

He noted that when he came to United, he quickly realized that the 20-time English champions were a completely different proposition compared to Ajax.

Blind referred to United as “a beast” that is popular worldwide and known by all.

The Dutchman said that his first season at the Theatre of Dreams was OK, partly due to the faith Van Gaal put in him. As per the footballer, his second campaign was even better because he stepped up and shouldered more responsibilities.

On why it didn’t work out for Van Gaal at the club, Blind replied, “We played quite good football under Louis but we didn’t score a lot of goals and we didn’t create a lot. We might lose a game to a counter-attack, that can happen to any team in the Premier League. When he left, United started buying a different type of player. It would have been interesting if Louis had those players as well.”

He divulged that Mourinho’s appointment after Van Gaal left made him feel like he had to prove himself to the Portuguese coach once more – a task he did successfully due to the fact that Mourinho was fair and gave him a genuine shot to show what he can do.

Blind however observed that as Mourinho brought in more players that suited his style of play better, his minutes at United became limited and so, he made a decision to return to Ajax.

He noted that his fortunes were not helped by an ankle injury he sustained.

Blind reflected on United’s triumph in the Europa League final against Ajax in 2017.

The Girona star revealed to Mitten that Mourinho gave them “a crazy brilliant plan” designed to beat Ajax’s high press and possession football.

United went on to win by two goals to nil.

Blind stated that he did not celebrate to the fullest as he and Phil Jones were randomly selected to do a doping test.

“It was my only European final and I felt the celebrations were taken away from me. There was only the trophy waiting when we got back to the empty training room.”