De Gea Enthused By Coaches van Gaal And Hoek

David De Gea admits he and his Manchester United team-mates are thoroughly enjoying work with new manager Louis van Gaal and his 3-5-2 formation that continues to produce impressive results.

Since taking charge of the Reds earlier this month, the Dutchman has overseen three consecutive pre-season victories against LA Galaxy, AS Roma and Inter Milan with a system that was previously unknown to most of the first-team players.

Van Gaal has also hired a new goalkeeping coach in Frans Hoek, whose previous pupils include Edwin van Sar at Ajax and Victor Valdes at Barcelona. Now, the 57-year-old is getting to grips with De Gea and the Spaniard is delighted with how things are going.

“Things are new,” David told ManUtd.com. “I have a new coach and we have a new formation - we are all enjoying it and working hard to adapt. Everyone is enthusiastic."

Expanding on his early work with Hoek, who has succeeded former coach Chris Woods, De Gea said: “We have mainly been working on ball control drills and things relating to the system. He is truly a great coach and we are going to learn a lot from him.”

De Gea made his third appearance of this summer’s pre-season tour during the midweek win over Inter Milan and former captain Nemanja Vidic, who brought an end to his nine season career at Old Trafford in May.

“It felt a little strange to face Nemanja,” David admitted. “It is odd playing against someone who was your team-mate for so many years. He played for a long time with United and I was pleased to see him, even if it was in another team.

“We were pleased to win the game, we took it very seriously. We won on a penalty shoot-out, but we were left with the feeling that we played well in defence and were very compact."

United’s attentions now turn to Saturday’s final group match in the International Champions Cup against Real Madrid in Ann Arbor, Michigan knowing anything but defeat will see the Reds reach Monday's final in Miami.

“It will be a big match," said the former Atletico Madrid stopper. "Playing against Madrid in front of a record crowd will be very special. We will enjoy it and hopefully continue to improve.”