Matthijs de Ligt admits that Manchester United owes their fans after a gloomy season that ended with the worst Premier League finish of the club and not qualifying for Europe for the second time in 35 years.
United opened their pre-season tour through the US with a 2-1 victory over West Ham at the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey, and De Ligt hopes that it can be the start of a revival among Ruben Amorim after they have made supporters suffer so much.
“Of course we owe it to them,” said the Holland defender. “But I think we are the first to owe ourselves. We are all unhappy with our versions last season.
“So that's the first thing we have to do. We also owe ourselves to play much better. And then of course the fans are also the most important thing. So hopefully we can give them much more joy this season.
'I think it is normal to build your self -confidence after such a season. So that's why I think a victory like today is really important. I think you will become more confidence with winning. You start to believe more in what you do.
'Last season was not good enough, we know that, and now we have to find a way to improve.
'I think we have already done some good signing sessions. You saw today, Matheus (Cunha), that he can bring a lot to the team. '
Asked if it will be difficult for United to place them behind them last season, De Ligt replied: 'No, I don't think it will be difficult because last season was last season. It is a new season. There is now a lot of positivity in the camp. '
The former Ajax and Bayern Munich Center-Back also believes that United cannot benefit from being in Europe by having fewer matches and more time to train under Amorim in Carrington.
'I think if you use the time well, this can certainly be an advantage. We now have a lot of time to train, so that aspect is really, very important, “he said.
'It is clear that as a football player you want to play as much as possible, so it is a pity that we are not in Europe.
'But I think if you saw the last season, some teams in the Champions League had a difficult season in the Premier League.
“So I think if we use the time well, if we train maximum every day, we can take advantage of it.”
Two goals from Bruno Fernandes gave United Victory on the Hammers, and De Ligt was impressed by how they performed in their Premier League Summer Series Opener Before the matches against Bournemouth and Everton.
'I think it was a good performance of us, especially in the first half. You always want to win the first game, so we work very hard every day to be at our best for the first (Premier League) match against Arsenal, then we see Game After Game.
'It was also good that we played against a Premier League team. They also play at a rapid pace and it was good that we have already shown some things that we want to improve today and what we do improve.
'You saw what kind of intensity we can bring. I think we are still at the beginning. We have much more potential to show in that aspect.
'But I think it was a good intensity and good performance today. These games are really important to us to win, so we can build on this. '