Erik ten Hag impressed Manchester United's football director John Murtough during interviews to become Manchester United manager earlier this year. Murtough was sold on the appointment of Ten Hag, but the Dutchman had questions of his own.
Murtough did his due diligence and he liked what he discovered. Ten Hag was considered the ideal manager to take United forward, someone who aligned with the club's values, but it would have been foolish and naive to think he didn't do his own investigating as the leading candidate. Ten Hag might have been shocked at what he discovered when undertaking that personal investigation.
Through WhatsApp messages and speaking to connections in the industry, Ten Hag would have been aware of the enormity of the challenge at Old Trafford. United had just endured their worst season for decades and a manager with a CV which reads Go Ahead Eagles, Bayern Munich II, Utrecht and Ajax would not usually be equipped for accepting a daunting job of such magnitude.
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It has been fortunate for everyone involved that Ten Hag does not seem like an ordinary manager. The record of managers coaching in the Premier League after working in the Eredivisie is hardly inspiring, but Ten Hag has made a strong start to his premiership after overcoming two humiliating defeats against Brighton and Brentford, which could have derailed his tenure at the beginning.
Crystal Palace infamously appointed Frank de Boer in the summer of 2017 - who had spent six successful years with Ajax - only to sack the Dutchman after five games in charge. Ten Hag could have met the same fate if he hadn't managed to stop the rot.
United responded to the Brentford debacle with an unlikely win against Liverpool and they have taken maximum points in the Premier League since. There was even talk of Ten Hag joining the players in punishing running drills to inspire improvement.
Although Ten Hag wants to secure Champions League football for next season and finishing outside the top four would disappoint supporters, this campaign always promised to be a transitional period and perspective will be required when assessing it.
Ten Hag inherited a broken dressing room, players that were devoid of confidence and a fanbase that remains disillusioned with the ownership. There were so many post-mortems after defeats last season and the club certainly felt like it had died for many supporters.
The extent of the problems he inherited, which were brought into the light again this week by Donny van de Beek's former agent, should not be forgotten. Van de Beek parted ways with agent Guido Albers in October in a bid to organise a January move and his former representative has now reflected on his transfer to United, using an interview to criticise the club and Paul Pogba:
“In the Netherlands, Donny got all the appreciation, performed well and was super popular with the fans," Albers told Voetbal Primeur. "At Manchester United, he then never played. The relationship between him and the club really cooled down badly.
“He had to compete against Paul Pogba, who reported late to the training camp, said sorry and was allowed to play again – in the place of a boy who was training 10 hours a day for eight weeks to show he was good enough."
If Albers' comments regarding Pogba are true, that shows the extent of how far standards at the club had fallen. The jury remains out on whether Van de Beek is good enough but suggestions of such a nonchalant approach from Pogba were unacceptable.
Ten Hag had to address those standards after his arrival and Pogba might have received a shock under his leadership. United should probably be thankful that Pogba considered their contract offer as not good enough.
United did offer Pogba a new contract, with improved terms on his existing £290,000-a-week deal, he just perceived it as not lucrative enough, which is absurd if Albers' comments are to be believed. United should never reward a lack of discipline.
The players remaining at the club have praised Ten Hag over the last few months and 'discipline' has been the buzzword in most of their discussions with the media. It is revealing that it took Ten Hag's appointment to restore discipline at Carrington.
That should be a given but it clearly wasn't at United. Although Manchester City and Liverpool have enjoyed unrivalled success over the last five years due to their vastly talented squads, they also work harder and run more than the majority of teams.
Ten Hag has changed the training ground culture and there is discipline at the club again. Ten Hag would not expect to be praised for that, as it should be guaranteed regardless of which manager is in charge, yet that's where the club found itself this summer.
The 52-year-old knew what he needed to change and he's implementing just that.
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