Erik ten Hag is the reason for Bruno Fernandes' gratitude

During this season, Bruno Fernandes has acknowledged that Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag had to 'protect' him on certain occasions. Fernandes has consistently been one of the club's top performers since he joined three-and-a-half years ago, however, his behaviour on the pitch has been called into question at times. Following Man Utd's humiliating 7-0 defeat by rivals Liverpool at Anfield in March, Fernandes' conduct and attitude were criticised by club legends Roy Keane and Gary Neville. His role as vice-captain also attracted significant attention, with various pundits suggesting he should be removed from Man Utd's leadership group.

Nevertheless, Ten Hag was swift to publicly defend Fernandes. Ahead of Saturday's FA Cup final against Manchester City, the Portugal international opened up about his relationship with the manager, stating, 'I'm aware that he's really happy with the way I train, the way I play, the way I show my emotions and the way I show my passion for the game. He knows I care. That's why probably sometimes it makes you do some things that you should not do. But I will never do anything to make the team look bad, make my teammates look bad, or something that is not good for the team. He knows that, so that's why it protects me...He has called me to his office two or three times and said "look, we have to change this, we have to change this, I think you could do it in a different way". We had many conversations this season.'

Fernandes is expected to lead Man Utd as captain at Wembley on Saturday, with skipper Harry Maguire set to be on the bench.