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| Man United boss Louis van Gaal has paid tribute to Chris Smalling for his defensive transformation |
And Van Gaal has tipped Smalling to become a future captain of Manchester United.
It is a stark contrast to a year ago when Van Gaal branded the England centre back “stupid” after he was sent off for two yellow cards in the space of a few crazy minutes in the first half of the defeat to neighbours City at the Etihad Stadium.
Smalling has not looked back since, signing a new long-term contract in the spring, being named a vice-captain and establishing himself as first choice for club and country – he has started United’s last 22 games, the longest unbroken run of his career.
He goes into Sunday’s derby at Old Trafford acknowledged by observers as the most improved player in the Van Gaal era but the Dutchman says it has been the player’s willingness to listen and learn that has made the difference as he has emerged from the shadow of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
“Every player makes the steps by himself,” said United manager Van Gaal. “I put him in the situation, help and advise him, and then it is up to the player to take it on board or not. It is his responsibility.
“He has done it by himself. There is a lot of advice. It is about how we defend as a team. He is a part of that and I wanted him to speak more (talk on the pitch). He also has the talent to speak. That makes him easy to coach.
“Because of that I made him a leader of the team. He has also made steps in a tactical way. When you give instruction in terms of organisation you need someone to understand that. He is a structured person. He accepted it quicker.
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| Van Gaal has tipped Smalling to be the captain of Man United in the future |
“Our goalkeeper David De Gea has the best view (of the game) and then the central defenders so I demand of my defenders that they speak. They need also an overview. I put him in that situation and then he can develop or not. It is his choice.”
At only 25, Smalling is five years younger than skipper Wayne Rooney and nine years vice-captain’s Michael Carrick’s junior and Van Gaal believes he has the qualities to be a future leader.
“Rooney is the captain and then there is Carrick but when they are gone then Chris Smalling can do that. So I push him also in that situation,” said Van Gaal.
United returned from their Champions League 1-1 draw in Moscow with no injuries and with Van Gaal taking the blame for their seemingly never-ending casualty list this time last season.
He admitted he has sold some players who could not cope with his demanding training regime.
“That (the injury list) was my fault,” he said. “I was training them harder but they were not used to training like that. Because I am convinced you have to train (hard), they are used to that step now.”
Kevin de Bruyne has warned targeting him for special treatment will be counter-productive for van Gaal on Sunday and play into City’s hands.
De Bruyne underlined his star quality with a last-gasp winning strike in Wednesday’s crucial 2-1 Champions League success over Sevilla which pepped confidence ahead of the trip to Old Trafford.
How United manager Van Gaal looks to nullify De Bruyne’s threat will be one of game’s sub-plots, though the player maintains any special treatment he is afforded will free one of his team-mates to wreak havoc.
“If they put maybe two people on me, then that means someone else has more space,” said De Bruyne.
“I think we have such a great team that on these levels, it is very difficult to put two people on one guy in the very big games. If they do that someone else will be free and will have more chances to do something for us.”
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