Bruno Fernandes has praised Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag for bringing more stability and discipline to the club, even appearing to endorse his hard line on Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Red Devils secured a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday evening as they resumed their Premier League campaign and they are now just four points adrift of second-placed Newcastle with a game in hand.
Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial both got on the score sheet to allay fears over United’s lack of attacking options following the termination of Ronaldo’s contract.
The Portuguese superstar – who had refused to be subbed on against Tottenham earlier this season – gave an explosive interview last month to Piers Morgan in which he claimed he would ‘never respect’ Ten Hag.
But countryman Fernandes clearly does not feel the same way and has praised the discipline and rules introduced by the Dutch coach, saying the squad now know they will be ‘out’ if they do not do what is asked of them – not dissimilarly to what happened with Ronaldo.
Speaking to NBC Sports after the win over Forest, he said: ‘I think you enjoy it when you win games. So if you are winning, everyone will be more happy. You know the strikers want to get their goals and their assists, that kind of thing, it’s always important for everyone.
‘But I think the main thing for us – because we’ve been through difficult moments with changing of coaches and everything – so we find now probably a coach that gave us stability.
‘That is really important and something that was missing, and also big discipline. That was something that, for me, was massive on our team that we need – I think in every team, probably.
‘But I think in our team we were missing a little bit of that, but now everyone understands that you do whatever you have to do or you are out.’
Asked if he’s enjoying his football at United more than ever, Fernandes continued: ‘No, no, obviously I’ve had wonderful times here.
‘Obviously I think if we’re talking the statistics side, my first year or year-and-a-half was amazing.
‘But probably now I’m not getting those same goals and assists but probably I’m playing much better, or more involved in the game than I was before.
‘Obviously I think it’s massively important for me if the team wins, because that makes your week. It’s much easier to go to training and see the same faces every day when you win. When you lose and you go in and see the same faces, it’s pretty tough.’
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