COMMENT: The right players. The right characters. And playing as the fans demand it. Erik ten Hag is building something at Manchester United. Few would deny that. And this revival goes beyond the senior level...

Ten Hag spoke about "connection" on Friday. The draw at home to Leeds United was a setback. Against a managerless team. Short of several frontliners. United should've done much better than nicking a point after going 2-0 down.

But it wasn't the stuff of crisis - even for the extremes of the Premier League. And the reaction is proof enough of an acceptance that United are moving in the right direction. Another year. Another manager. And it would be all 'crisis this', 'catastrophe that'.

But this is a different era. Foundations have not only been put in place, but are growing. Two points dropped at home against a struggling Leeds team was a setback. But it was a frustration. A blip. What's being built is visible to all. The fans. The pundits. And so the bigger picture. Mid- and long-term goals. They all get a look in. A score draw at home isn't going to knock the belief.

And it's a growing relationship which Ten Hag can feel. Not since before Sir Alex Ferguson stunned the club (and Robin van Persie) with his retirement announcement over ten years ago has the place been so united behind their manager. David Moyes? LVG? Jose? Ole? Ahem, Rangnick...? Has there ever been a time since Sir Alex stepped down that a Manchester United manager has enjoyed such support? And as we say, he can sense it. Feel it.

"I feel we are really connected with this team and with this squad," Ten Hag stated on Friday. "We are united, also really connected with the culture of Man United.

"We are really connected with that. The team is really growing - I would say it is about how to beat [teams], win games and do it in the United way," he added. "So, togetherness and do it in an attacking and proactive way."

It must be said, those previous fractures were not driven by the manager's in place. It was personality. It was style. It was player power. None of the previous five talked or acted their way out of the job.

But things are different with Ten Hag. And this column would argue the club is even more unified under the Dutchman than they were with Sir Alex during his first 18 months in charge.

And this goes beyond what we're seeing from Ten Hag's first team. As below the seniors, there's some real, genuine excitement about what is about to break through.

Amad Diallo at Sunderland. Hannibal Mejbri with Birmingham City. And Shola Shoretire for Bolton Wanderers. They're at different stages of their respective loans. Indeed, they're at different stages of their careers. But all three are now fulfilling that potential and promise they showed as United academy players.

At Sunderland, Amad's manager Tony Mowbray has been open about how well the attacking midfielder has grown over the course of the season. And reinforcing that opinion was his former United coach Michael Carrick after a man-of-the-match performance against Middlesbrough a fortnight ago.

"I know Amad very well from United," said the Boro manager. "He's a terrific footballer and seems to have jumped up a level again from the start of the season."

At St Andrew's, similar comments are directed towards Hannibal. Birmingham manager John Eustace describing the Tunisia international as "awesome" and "different class" after a goal and assistant in Friday night's derby win against West Brom.

And at Bolton, Trotters manager Ian Evatt has declared Shoretire "electric" in his five appearances thus far. And he has. The Geordie has stepped into League One football with ease. A great credit to Evatt and his team for how smoothly the transition has been made.

Indeed the impact of Shoretire has been so good that conversations have ratcheted up at Benton. Talk about Shoretire and bringing him home have been consistent inside Newcastle United ever since the club's change of hands. And that has now intensified as Shoretire has proven himself at Bolton. Dan Ashworth, Newcastle's technical director, would love to bring back the Geordie. A midfield featuring Shoretire, Sean Longstaff and Elliot Anderson is something that has been raised more than once at Benton HQ.

But at United, they have a chance. All three. They have a real chance of not only playing for Manchester United, but being ten-year prospects for the club. And again, don't discount the influence of Ten Hag, Steve McClaren and the rest of his staff. This loan system is a science. The right club. The right manager. It all matters. We've highlighted before in this column how Warren Joyce, United's former academy director, conceded poorly organised loans effectively blunted the potential of the likes of James Wilson and Adnan Januzaj. But given what we're seeing this season, no such accusations can be leveled.

And that's away from Old Trafford. Of course at home, Ten Hag continues to bring through Alejandro Garnacho. And he's now introduced Kobbie Mainoo to the faithful. A player, at 17, with the potential to be everything for Manchester United that Paul Pogba wasn't.

With the right players. Buying the right characters. Ten Hag is building something at Manchester United. But this goes beyond the senior level. The changes run deeper. With this current crop of academy talent - and how they're being managed - the manager has "really connected with the culture of Man United".