Man Utd ace Bruno Fernandes reveals he will change style of play with Mike Dean refereeing due to official RUNS

BRUNO FERNANDES has revealed one of the secrets behind his uncanny ability to find space on the pitch – he marks the referee!

The Manchester United playmaker says his style of play is to find “dead zones” – these are often the areas occupied by the match official.

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Fernandes, 28, told The Athletic: “I call this the ‘referee zone’ as nobody marks the referee.

“Sometimes the coaches say that to players who play between the lines or to wingers who want to come in or to forwards who want to fall.

“Of course the positions are sometimes different because it can be a counterattack, for example.

“It also depends on how an official directs the game. Mike Dean, for example, ran very central, which was probably better for him to watch the game.

“But for us as No 10, that can’t be our position so you have to figure out where you can go.”

The Portuguese star also admitted that a dismal 2-1 home defeat to Brighton on day one reignited the sense of disappointment they regularly felt at Old Trafford last season.

It was a campaign that saw club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked as manager during another trophyless campaign that saw United finish sixth in the Prem.

Fernandes said: “You could feel between us, between the fans, in the atmosphere that it was like going back in time.

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“Everyone felt that confidence was low again. Everyone was a little – don’t worry – but not the best feeling taking the ball. I sometimes felt like they were the ghosts of the past.”

Four straight league wins quickly allayed fears of continued misery under new boss Erik ten Hag and Fernandes was predictably central to the rebound.

It was therefore interesting to hear the former Sporting Lisbon star admit he was furious when a move to Tottenham fell through ahead of his 2020 move to the Red Devils.

Fernandes told the Athletic: “The [Sporting] President spoke to me but he spoke to me on the wrong day – it was the day after they decided to turn down Tottenham’s offer and I was really angry.”