"Last year wasn’t great and I feel like everyone has something to prove for this upcoming season," explained Jadon Sancho in an interview quoted by the Manchester Evening News.
"We don’t want to put performances in like we did last year and upset the fans. Some fans travelled for a long time to get to the stadium and watch us not perform.
"I’m sure, this year, everyone is going to make up for that and make sure every game we play we put 100 per cent in and make sure the fans are smiling at the end of the game."
The Manchester United winger, who has scored three goals in four pre-season games, continued: "The training, especially in pre-season, has been a real positive and all the lads have taken on board what he’s [Erik ten Hag] saying.
"This season, I feel a lot more comfortable and, especially scoring in pre-season, it is a confidence boost for myself and, hopefully, I can take that into the season and keep it going.
"This pre-season, we have the same players, but it just looks like a whole different team and I do think that’s something we’re working on and I feel like we’re getting better.
"The manager is big on team-bonding and having fun together and doing things like team dinners and things like that. So, yeah, it’s helping."
Ten Hag was initially presumed to be very strict and authoritative - which he clearly is on the pitch. Off the field, however, the Dutch boss sounds like a fun guy who wants the team to behave and play like a unit together.
We will know his true impact only when the Premier League season begins in August - that is not too far away.
