Former Aberdeen goalkeeper and captain Joe Lewis has opened up on what life was like training with Manchester United following his Pittodrie farewell.

The Englishman left the Dons at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, before relocating to United's Carrington training ground to work alongside the Premier League side's first team.

Alongside the likes of André Onana, current Rangers keeper Jack Butland, Tom Heaton and United legend David de Gea, Lewis was left thrilled by the chance to experience working with some 'top players.'

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And speaking exclusively to Gambling.com ahead of Sunday's Manchester derby, Lewis has lifted the lid on life in camp with the Red Devils, admitting it was a good way to finish his career after confirming his retirement earlier this year.

Lewis said: "So I was there during the second half of last season [23/24 Season]. I was the training goalkeeper for the Man United first team. It was a great experience for me working with some top players.

"Before I went there, I didn't really know what to expect. It's exactly the same as any other football club you go into, it's just a lot bigger. The players that you're playing with are huge names.

"But it's the same, a poor result and the mood is poor. It's difficult to lift the lads and then when you get a good result it's great. The facilities obviously were amazing, but it was a really good way to finish my playing career."

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Erik ten Hag was the man at the helm during Lewis' time at Carrington, with the now departed Dutchman having led United to FA Cup success before a dire start to the current campaign.

But Lewis had plenty of praise for the former Ajax boss despite his struggles to get the Red Devils up the table, as he explained what it was like working alongside Ten Hag for the season.

He added: "I wasn't privy to the pre-match meetings and stuff like that. It was great, it was fun for me. He took time out of his day to chat with me and yeah it was great.

"I didn't get involved with the tactical side, I would warm up with the keepers and then I'd keep myself warm while they would go off and do the tactical session. I'd join them in the small sided games or the shooting at the end.

"I was doing the job of a 19-year-old, 18-year-old really at the age of 37. So yeah, it was good, it kept me fit. He was really good, he was really nice to me, he didn’t need to be.

"I was there, just the training goalkeeper and he looked after me and I got a lot of respect for the man."

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Plenty of questions were raised over the relationships between Ten Hag and his United players, but Lewis didn't see any signs of a struggle to get the squad on side for the 54-year-old.

On whether the players responded to Ten Hag during his United tenure, Lewis added: "Yeah, I think so. I'm not going to sit here and criticise the man at all, he was great to me.

"Obviously as a manager you're judged by your results and I would keep saying the same thing, it's the same at every club, if you don't get the results as a manager, then you get moved on and that's what happened to him.

"He's not the first fantastic manager to go into that football club and not have success. However he's won trophies there, he won the FA Cup last season so he's got relative success there compared to other managers that have tried and failed since Sir Alex Ferguson."