Mindset changes, two game changes and three key signings – in Erik ten Hag’s plans to improve Manchester United

The Manchester United manager’s office at Carrington overlooks all of the training grounds. In the penultimate week of last season, diggers arrived to tear up the furthest away turf. From a distance, it looked like an excavation.

Erik ten Hag might have wondered if the workers had unearthed a cursed object embedded in the lawn. He repeatedly referred to United’s unprecedented number of injuries in a season – 66 was the final tally – and the 30 different full-backs he was forced to choose from.

A United analyst compiled each quartet using online statistics site Soccerbase. The sheet was printed and handed to Ten Hag, who unfolded it to present as evidence to anyone at Carrington who questioned his position.

It evoked memories of former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez reeling from his infamous ‘facts’ in January 2009. The Ten Hags were more concrete and ultimately quite convincing to Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his cohorts, after much deliberation.

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Contrary to his public statements at press conferences, Ten Hag was bothered that he never received support from Ratcliffe or any of United’s new power brokers during the season. Ineos had until June 11 to decide whether Ten Hag should stay after finding at least five possible replacements. Their intention to give Ten Hag a contract extension further undermines their decision-making process.

Ten Hag operated in an atmosphere that was often fraught with crisis, although it was not of his making. He was not responsible for barring journalists from a press conference or for rejecting questions at other pre- and post-match gatherings.

Colleagues who have covered United for more than two decades consider Ten Hag the most receptive manager of the post-Ferguson era. Having spent two and a half honest hours in his Melbourne and Cadiz company, Ten Hag has better value and completely genuine minus cameras.

The desk that Ten Hag sits at in his pre-match meetings with us at Carrington is the same one that David Moyes never really set foot in over ten years ago. A United staff member remarked two years ago that they would love to throw the table away, but it still lingers, literally part of the club’s furniture. It is unlikely to appear in any other sketches of Sir Norman Foster.

Incredibly, Ten Hag felt that some of the negative coverage surrounding United contributed to injuries to certain players because they had a defeatist mentality. Ten Hag, staunchly devoted correspondents sought them out for him and the team, was surprised when informed online readers about United thrive more when the team wins than loses.

Gary O’Driscoll, the head of sports medicine, missed United’s last nine games of the season to focus on an overhaul of the medical department. Former Arsenal physio Jordan Reece will reunite with O’Driscoll.

Any resurgence United enjoy under Ten Hag is likely to be supported by left-backs Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez. Ten Hag felt their absences compromised the team’s approach as United’s defense dropped more than intended and inhibited the proactive style of goalkeeper Andre Onana in his debut season.

Even without European Championship and Copa America participants Shaw and Martinez, the Ten Hag can look forward to a rewarding pre-season. Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jarrad Branthwaite could step on UCLA’s campus in July. Willy Kambwala, the 19-year-old centre-back, was not selected in United’s pre-season squad last year and was only a substitute for the academy’s friendly defeat to Wrexham in San Diego, for which Ten Hag had a place on the field.

The Ten Hag later admitted that if anyone had told him during the summer that Kambwala would be playing for the first team, he would have called them “crazy”. Kambwala has an FA Cup winner’s medal and is another academy success story.

Jonny Evans, a struggling starter in the 3-1 defeat to Wrexham, has been re-signed strictly as an insurance centre-back. The 36-year-old ended up playing 30 games, one ahead of fellow centre-back Maguire and two ahead of Raphael Varane. If Evans re-signs, the Ten Hag could have at least five centre-halves with first-team experience to battle Arsenal and Liverpool in Los Angeles and South Carolina.

Two years on from his appointment, Ten Hag is still surprised by the lightning-quick mentality of the United team he believed he had repaired in his first season. Toward the end of last term, he told confidants at Carrington that he was still struggling to instill a winning culture.

Mason Mount’s disappointing first pre-season set the tone for a troubled first year with United. Mount remained silent with the United States media last July, sensitive about the fallout following his Chelsea defection. He was almost as quiet in the games against Arsenal, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. The 25-year-old is tipped for a central role next month, replacing Bruno Fernandes.

Ten Hag needs a striker in the States. Someone half-jokingly suggested that the oft-injured Anthony Martial, scorer of 19 goals in his last four seasons at United, should look for a career change. Ten Hag agreed.

A fit Martial was left out of the FA Cup final squad and didn’t bother traveling to Wembley as a support player. The injured Maguire, Tyrell Malacia and Shaw did.

As outspoken a supporter of Rasmus Hojlund as Ten Hag is, he pointed out how many times the Dane has started on the bench for Atalanta during talks in the inner sanctum at Carrington. Hojlund was left out of the final three games of the campaign and came through to great effect in those decisive wins over Newcastle, Brighton and City.

Ten Hag are still strongly backing the €100m Antony, pointing to his many positive performances against Newport County, Liverpool and Chelsea. Ten Hag’s reprieve itself possibly extends to the Brazilian.

Marcus Rashford’s future remains uncertain after scoring twice at the Ten Hag last term. Whether he stays or goes depends in part on the strength of United’s forward recruits, with Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho leading the queue for exits.

In backstage chats, Ten Hag admitted that he overplayed 19-year-olds Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo. Garnacho has started 38 consecutive games and Mainoo has lined out in 29 of 34 games since making his full Premier League debut in November.

Mainoo’s tactical sending off in April’s 1-1 draw with Burnley drew a cacophony of boos from the Old Trafford crowd in the last audible instance of anything close to rioting. Ten Hag privately protested that Mainoo was “f****d” after three starts in seven days.

The first of these matches was the infamous FA Cup semi-final success against Coventry. In a debriefing, Ten Hag remained defiant about how that prank unfolded and absolved himself of blame, instead despairing of managing the players’ game. United were 3-0 up in the 70th minute but conceded three goals in 24 minutes.

Ten Hag cited the limited players he had on a bench that included teenagers Habeeb Ogunneye, Harry Amass, Ethan Wheatley and Louis Jackson, none of whom he considered ready for senior football.

After Christian Eriksen and Antony were introduced, Ten Hag were limited to the underused Amad and raw Omari Forson. Amad finally earned a late first start under Ten Hag against Arsenal in the penultimate week of the Premier League season and was unlucky to be ruled out of the FA Cup Final XI. His availability for the three-game tour of the United States is another plus.

Ten Hag was angered by the criticism he received for substituting Garnacho, who he considers his most reliable striker, in the 66th minute against Coventry. “If I can’t knock him out 3-0 against a Championship team, when can I?” Ten Hag told a staff member.

Coventry registered a modest 18 attempts at Onana’s goal. The strike stats went with Ten Hag, who noted that Real Madrid conceded 33 attempts to Manchester City in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Etihad. It didn’t generate any coverage as Madrid, of course, prevailed on penalties.

Ten Hag insisted on getting on the train for the last time at Stockport Station the day before the FA Cup final. A source confirmed that it was a lucky ritual.

At away games, Ten Hag was always the last to disembark the United manager, five minutes after the last player came off. Those superstitious moments of quiet contemplation provided brief respite.

Darkened coach windows shielded Ten Hag from waiting fans, providing the privacy of a prayer room. If he hummed a quiet plea at Wembley, it was answered.

The curse has been lifted.