Casemiro reveals surprise at Erik ten Hag's 'obsession' with winning

Manchester United midfielder Casemiro has admitted he has been surprised by manager Erik ten Hag’s ‘obsession for winning’ since arriving at Old Trafford.

Casemiro played under two of the most successful coaches of the modern era at former club Real Madrid, where he won five UEFA Champions League titles among numerous other trophies.

Yet Ten Hag is right up there with the most thorough bosses the player has ever known, especially when it comes to trying to gain any edge by even the tiniest of margins.

“After being in football for quite a while even though I'm only 30, his obsession for winning is what surprised me the most,” Casemiro said ahead of United’s crunch Europa League clash with Real Sociedad.

“I think he's got many strengths. We all know it's a process and we're growing together. We want to win and [Ten Hag] is obsessed with teaching us and making us better to the millimetre. That obsession with winning is something I've only seen with very few managers.”

Listen now to 90min's Manchester United podcast, The Promised Land, with Scott Saunders & Rob Blanchette. In the latest episode they preview the Real Sociedad game, as well discussing Marcus Rashford and the return to fitness of Anthony Martial.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, who was in charge of Bayern Munich when Ten Hag was leading the club’s second team, recently commented that United are ‘finally coming back’ under the Dutchman’s guidance.

“Finally United is coming back. I said I like what I see of United right now,” Guardiola remarked.

Ten Hag was grateful for the praise but suggested the project is far from finished.

“It's a nice compliment,” he said. “But I also see a lot of room for improvement in our game and we have to if we want to compete for the top four positions, we have to improve.”