The ultimatum responsible for transforming John Fleck into a top Premier League midfielder

Despite publicly talking-up the midfielder’s credentials on the eve of the new Premier League campaign, Wilder privately left Fleck in no doubt whatsoever that he was unhappy with certain aspects of his play.

Admitting he was ordered to pose more of a threat in the opposition box after being summoned to a meeting following United’s promotion from the Championship last term, Fleck explained how that pep talk - coupled with a subtle positional adjustment - has been responsible for his improved returns in front of goal.

“At this level we have to be a bit more wary on the counter attack or of losing possession in dangerous areas of the pitch,” Fleck, who has scored five times since August, said. “We’ve changed this season to more of a midfield three to give us a bit more security.

“But there’s a bit more freedom to get forward and try to get in the box at the right times. That’s the conversation the manager had with me at the start of the season. He told me I had to score more goals and thankfully I’ve managed to do that.”

Fleck’s comments provide an insight into how United have not only become more tactically sophisticated in recent months, but also the psychological methods their coaching staff employ to eke even greater levels of performance out of a squad which was competing in the third tier of English football only three years ago. Rather than allowing them to wallow in the glory of their recent achievements, Wilder constantly sets new challenges for his players to address.

That, combined with the pressure the 52-year-old applies on every department at United to deliver improvements, has created an environment where ambition and excellence thrives. Both on the pitch and off it, with data analysis and sports science becoming increasingly important to how Wilder works.

Speaking last month, he told The Star how the former is helping his recruitment experts identify potential targets during the coronavirus pandemic, with all of the world’s major leagues either postponing or abandoning their fixtures calendars and social distancing measures making international travel impossible.

Crucially, despite the complexity of United’s system, which revolves around the use of wing-backs and two attacking centre-halves, instructions are issued in clear and concise fashion before games.

With Wilder’s squad only five points outside the Champions League places before English football was placed into lockdown, Fleck said: “Against teams like Manchester City, you have to try and soak the pressure up and hit them on the counter. But for the majority, we’ve tried to get after the ball as much as we can. The principles of pretty much the same regardless of who we’re playing against."

"Training is always really full on too, every day," Fleck added. "That's another thing that's really helped us as far as I'm concerned."

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