Ten Hag dropped a player from one of Utd's pre-season games after he was late

Erik ten Hag reportedly dropped a Manchester United star from his plans on the club's pre-season tour after he twice turned up late to team meetings.

The Dutchman made an impressive start to life at United with a near almost perfect record on their 18-day tour of Thailand and Australia during pre-season.

The players appear to already be coming to grips with his methods and tactics, well almost, as one of his main strategies is strict discipline.

United's new manager has introduced strict new rules regarding time-keeping, nutrition and alcohol consumption after taking over this summer.

During the trip, an unnamed player was twice late for team meetings, and Ten Hag had been planning to use him in a game in Australia but dropped him by way of punishment, according to The Athletic.

The decision making it known that he will not let standards slip and puts a huge importance of punctuality.

The former Ajax boss even previously admitted that he will crack down on discipline amongst the Red Devils squad.

'When you want to get results, you need a team,' he said. 'It is organisation, co-operation, and also you need discipline.

'When there is no discipline around, you will not find it on the pitch as well.

'I'm quite severe on such issues. I will tell every player what I expect of them. I have high standards because you are here, you are playing for Manchester United, then you must bring it every day on the pitch.

'Why are you not acting to your standards? That is an expectation I have.

'I think we have done well. The players respond well to the demands we have. I set some standards, we introduce how we play, and I'm satisfied with that.'

Ten Hag's strict rules and new playing methods have earned praise from numerous members of the squad, including long-serving goalkeeper David De Gea.

'We needed a better culture of football, of just thinking about football, nothing else,' De Gea said last week when asked about his new manager's philosophy.

'Of course, you cannot be late. People who work in their jobs, you cannot be late. So I think you cannot be late for training, we cannot be late for the meetings. That's life, you have to be on time and professional.'

Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes is in total agreement with punishment for bad time-keeping.

'I think we missed that [discipline] for a while and I think the way I see discipline is important.

'For me, discipline is not only the way you play on the pitch, the position that you have, what you have to do, it's also off the pitch.

'Don't be late for the meetings, don't be late for the meals. I think that's really important because if everyone is on time and someone comes late, he should be punished.

'I think it's really good that he [Ten Hag] is doing that and, for me, amazing because I like to be on time so I won't have problems with that.'

United take on Atletico Madrid in Oslo on Saturday after jetting back from their tour of Australia and Thailand.

The Red Devils take on Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford just 24 hours later, with Ten Hag expected to name two separate starting XIs to give everyone much needed game time.

The two games will allow the new boss to hand new signings Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen a chance to shine ahead of the new Premier League season.