Bruno Fernandes claimed that Erik ten Hag was instrumental in changing Manchester United's trajectory after the squad advanced to the League Cup final.
The Dutch manager will lead his club against Newcastle at Wembley on February 26 after a 2-0 victory against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday gave them a 5-0 win overall in the semi-finals. This is the manager's first season at Old Trafford.
The opportunity exists for United to snap their 40-year trophy drought. They haven't received any awards since winning the Europa League in 2017.
"Obviously, it's wonderful for us," said Fernandes, who captained the squad in the 2021 Europa League final shootout loss to Villarreal.
“It’s a long time since the Europa League. Since I’m here we don’t play (another) final. You come to this club to be in the position to win trophies and we are in a massive position now.”
Since he moved to Old Trafford from Ajax, Ten Hag has seen a significant change in the team’s fortune and culture. A first trophy is now very close.
Last year, they came in sixth place in the Premier League. They didn’t get far in the domestic cups or the Champions League. At the same time, they were led by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Ralf Rangnick.
But this season, they are in fourth place in the Premier League and are still in the running for three cups.
The Portugal midfielder Fernandes, who joined United in January 2020, said, “I think last year was about confidence.
“You win one game, you lose another one, you draw another one — you never get that run of victories that gave you the confidence to keep going and keep pushing yourself to do the best.
“We had a bad feeling that any moment of the game could go against us — a corner, a shot, some moment.
“The confidence was low, and that creates uncertainty, but obviously, I think this season, the main thing was the results. You get more confident.
“The idea of the manager is on the team, you can see it. The players that came to the club are also making a part of that but the ones that stayed are also playing and making a part of that too.”