Tuesday 16 September 2014 12:29, UK
Daley Blind believes Louis van Gaal's brutal honesty will rebuild Manchester United's fearsome team spirit.
The Holland international knows the former Dutch manager well, having been given his international debut under van Gaal in February 2013.
And he believes the United manager's blunt, authoritarian, manner will bring back the success expected by the club's fans.
Blind says 63-year-old van Gaal is just an honest man who should not be criticised for giving his opinions in a straightforward manner.
"He is not frightening - he is just honest," Blind said. "That can be frightening, but I like it.
He is not frightening - he is just honest. That can be frightening, but I like it.
"He is very honest to everybody. He knows what he wants and he knows his philosophy.
"He can bring that to the players and he can make a team with everybody in."
United enjoyed their first Premier League win of the season on Sunday, a 4-0 hammering of QPR at Old Trafford, in which Blind made a telling contribution on his debut for the Red Devils.
All the focus may have been on United's other summer signings, Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao, but Blind, operating at the base of a midfield diamond, dictated the high tempo demanded by van Gaal and also broke up QPR's attacking play on the rare occasions they made it over the halfway line.
The 24-year-old, who moved to Old Trafford from Ajax on deadline day, easily slotted into the United starting XI and he thinks van Gaal's straight-talking approach will help him become a much better player.
"I have really learned a lot from van Gaal and I like working under him," he added. "He has helped me a lot and I hope to continue learning from him.
"I think he can make me a better player in terms of positioning, where to stand and tactics in games because midfield is an important position to play and I hope I can get better at it every day."
A year and a half on from his international debut, Blind is a regular in the national team which came third in the World Cup finals in Brazil.
Van Gaal attributed Holland's success to a strong team spirit within the camp, and he has set about trying to establish a similar sense of unity within a United squad which contains six new signings.
"Everybody wants to fight for each other and I think we saw that in the QPR game," Blind said.
"Everyone wants to give the ball to each other. I like to play in this squad.
"When I came here there was a really warm welcome and I felt directly good in the team.
"Also, Robin (van Persie) helped me a lot because I know him from the Dutch squad but I got help also from the other guys who came in straight away.
"That is a good start for everybody if you want to work for each other."
United travel to play Leicester City on Sunday bidding to improve their record of just one win and two draws from van Gaal's first four Premier League matches. Already, they languish seven points behind leaders Chelsea.
Watch Leicester City take on Manchester United live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Sunday from 12:30pm.
