Jason Wilcox believes Manchester United fans have played a massive role in the ongoing transformation of the club.
Our director of football IS a guest on the first episode of our brand-new podcast Inside Carrington, presented by United Store, appearing alongside presenters Liam Bradford and Helen Evans, and former Reds defender Phil Jones.
MUTV subscribers can watch to the interview in full from 08:00 GMT on Wednesday 5 November, four hours before it is available to watch on our YouTube channel at midday.
Wilcox speaks at length about the behind-the-scenes improvements being made at United, and touches upon our summer transfer business, which is already starting to pay dividends.
Jason concludes the conversation with a nod to those who turn up week in and week out, always backing the team in the tough times, as he reiterates that the difficult decisions being made are all for the long-term benefit of the club.
“The fans have been incredible in a period where there has been a lot of frustration, not winning for a long time,”
says Jason. “The way they have stuck with the players, with the manager and the football leadership team, I think the fans have just been incredible and like no other.
“Matchday at Old Trafford is an experience. Before the game when the whole stadium is singing ‘Country Roads’, for anyone not to feel emotion and the hairs on the back of your neck, they stand up.
“All we are doing now is making sure that we make decisions for the football club and not for the benefit, not for the short-term protection of ourselves, we're making some really bold decisions for the future of Man United.
“Man United is bigger than any player, any manager, any staff member. We are custodians, if you like, and we've just got to understand that at some point our journey will end, inevitably.
“We need to make sure that when we leave this football club, whenever that is, and I hope I am here for a long, long time, that this football club is in a much better position.”
That mission is now starting to bear fruit, the former Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United winger believes, particularly in his own department based at our new, state-of-the-art training ground.
“I really feel now this football club is moving in the right direction and that is my own personal view, that is not a biased view because I'm working here.
“I look at every department and I'm going to talk about the sporting department only because it's unfair for me to talk about any other departments, but when I think about the sporting department, we are making progress in every area.
“In every single area we are making progress, and the fans have been a huge contributor to making sure we can make the right decisions and ultimately our plan, our idea, is for us to get back winning for them.
“They are a huge part of this football club. Part of the history is one thing, but the fans, the generations that come to Old Trafford, is something special. You can't begin to explain it, it's very, very special.”