Fletcher gestured to Ten Hag and the manager took control of the meeting with the kind of tactical precision that defined his coaching philosophy.
Ten Hag opened his iPad and connected it to the large screen mounted on the wall, and video footage appeared showing Manchester United's matches from the previous season.
"Our system requires technical midfielders who can defend, create, and score," Ten Hag said without preamble. "Last season we finished third in the Premier League, won the Carabao Cup, reached the FA Cup final. Not terrible but below Manchester United's standards."
The honesty was brutal and refreshing at the same time.
"The midfield was our weakest area," Ten Hag continued. "Casemiro excellent defensively but thirty-one years old. Eriksen creative but also thirty-one and his legs are going. Bruno brilliant but isolated, needs support. Scott McTominay works hard but limited technically."
