Former Mancunian Ferdinand was again on Monday at Carrington, the training complex where the center defender, employed by Manchester United, could be found almost daily for twelve years. In the role of interviewer, Ferdinand got to know the Portuguese Bruno Fernandes, and during his visit Ferdinand noticed something.
“The atmosphere at Carrington and Old Trafford has changed enormously,” he told FIVE, his program on YouTube. “It’s more positive. Even the canteen has changed, really everything. It looks different, it feels different, the food is different. It felt so negative here at first. Now I stood there and felt that something is happening. I don’t know what, or where, but the atmosphere is different. Confidence is back.”
And that is not limited to the players, says Ferdinand. “I feel something about the staff. They are more optimistic, they come to work satisfied every day. That was all generated by Erik ten Hag, his team and people behind the scenes. You can’t change the culture at a club on your own, you do it together. They are back on track and are still competing for four prizes. Not that I think they’ll win four, but it’s nice to go to Carrington and feel optimistic,” he adds.
In a sense, United are now waiting a week for the truth. On Thursday, Ten Hag’s team has the Europa League return against Barcelona after a 2-2 draw in the first leg last week. On Sunday, after a long time, another prize can be won: at Wembley, Newcastle United is the last hurdle on their way to the League Cup.
Weghorst’s hopes ahead of the Europa League fixture
In other news, Weghorst appeared in an interview on the club website ahead of the now gone Europa League fixture. The striker tells how much he looked forward to the Europa League game. “I always start laughing when I walk out of the tunnel and see the stadium and the field. The atmosphere is already great, and if you tell me that it’s even more special on European nights, I’m already looking forward to it,” said Weghorst.
He added, “We are in a good phase, we are still active on four fronts. We should definitely keep it that way. The final is coming up.”
