Fernandes asked for extra shooting drills after training at Man United
REVEALED: Bruno Fernandes asked for extra shooting drills after training with half the Man United squad quickly joining in with coach Benni McCarthy’s ‘fun’ and ‘competitive’ sessions
- South African was brought in to work with United’s attackers at start of season
- Fernandes asked McCarthy for extra drills to hone his finishing skills
- Soon, most of the United squad were competing against each other to score
Bruno Fernandes requested extra shooting practice after training and soon even Manchester United’s defenders were joining in, Benni McCarthy has revealed.
The South African was hired by Erik ten Hag to work with United’s attacking players but he has proved a popular figure amongst the whole squad.
McCarthy can speak English, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese, allowing him to communicate in the first language of most of United’s players and staff.
Portuguese star Fernandes was eager to hone his finishing skills and asked McCarthy to work with him after regular sessions. Fernandes scored 14 times across all competitions in 2022-23, with four of those goals penalties.
But the shooting drills proved so popular it didn’t take long for other players to get involved.
Bruno Fernandes celebrates after scoring for Manchester United in Saturday’s FA Cup final
The Portuguese star requested additional shooting practice after training to hone his skills
Coach Benni McCarthy quickly found his additional shooting drills becoming very popular
‘I coach stuff that can benefit them, to add to their training methods,’ McCarthy told 947 Joburg.
‘A lot of pressure was on me because these are world class players you’re working with and you need to know your stuff. I just put on stuff I would have loved when I was a striker. Put up these kind of specific drills the strikers love.
‘Sometimes we go in games without touching the ball a lot, but you get that one opportunity and you stick it away. So not the most complicated drills – just simple drills strikers face seven out of 10 times in the games.
‘The more consistent you become, the easier it becomes in the game. Bruno was the one who told me he wanted to stay behind.
‘After a while, it started catching on and half the team was coming, even the midfielders, even the defenders, to do finishing drills because it was fun and exciting.
‘There was a lot of repetition and we started making it into competitions, so every day we need to have a winner and that’s how I got everyone engaged.
‘Bruno is there every single day and Rashy [Marcus Rashford] followed. We created that culture where the finishing drills were about competitiveness and the consistency of hitting the target or making the goalkeeper move.’
Marcus Rashford has enjoyed an exceptional season in front of goal, scoring 30 times
McCarthy has been impressed by the ‘frightening’ work ethic of United manager Erik ten Hag
McCarthy also described the work ethic of manager Ten Hag as ‘frightening’ while offering some insight into his own daily routine at United.
‘I think if I put together both of my jobs as head coach at [South African clubs] Cape Town City and AmaZulu in one season, it does not come close to the workload that has been done at Man United; it is relentless,’ he said.
‘That, though, is to be expected because of the levels where you are and the amount of world class players that you deal with on a daily basis. We have got to be ultra-prepared every single day.
‘At 7am, 7.30am in the morning, we are in the office delegating the training sessions, the individual schedules and all of the data.
‘Then the players come in and you have your individual meetings and stuff, then you are in the office working tirelessly on different content to work with the manger. At about 6pm in the evening you then leave to go home after a long day.
United were second best to Man City in the FA Cup final but it’s been a positive season
‘That is just working as an attacking coach. The manager… oh my goodness, it is frightening.
‘But then you know when you see the results and the progress that the team is making and where we are, you don’t mind all of those hard-working hours that you put in.
‘It makes it worthwhile, because when you see the success that Man United has everywhere in then world that you go… wow, we are like superheroes.’
United’s hard work has paid off in a season that saw them finish third in the Premier League, returning to the Champions League for next season, win the Carabao Cup and reach the FA Cup final.
McCarthy has also sprung to the defence of goalkeeper David de Gea after the Spaniard made a number of high-profile errors this season.
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