When Go Ahead Eagles appointed Erik ten Hag as manager in 2012, the players did not know what to expect from a young coach who was taking his first job in management, but it was a calculated risk from a club in the second tier of Dutch football.
Ten Hag won promotion in his first season as a manager and his strict approach, obsessive nature and forward-thinking tactics were behind that unlikely success, which saw Go Ahead Eagles promoted for the first time in almost 20 years.
Sjoerd Overgoor, who started every match in that campaign, told the Manchester Evening News in October that Ten Hag was 'crazy', but that he was undoubtedly the best coach he'd worked under and that he needed time to succeed at Old Trafford.
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Overgoor also recalled the minor details that Ten Hag would obsess about at the club, from demanding the coloured bibs be separated accordingly, to installing a window in his office at the training ground so players could speak to him.
Go Ahead Eagles' players initially thought Ten Hag was installing a window in his office to keep an eye on the squad's behaviour, but he explained in a conversation with Overgoor that it was actually to make it easier for himself to be approached.
Ten Hag was attentive to the length of the blades of grass at Go Ahead Eagles and he installed beds at the training ground. Overgoor said the 52-year-old is a 'perfectionist' and that he was the difference in his first season in management in Holland.
That success was not a coincidence and Ten Hag now finds himself at Manchester United, exactly 10 years after his taste of management and, although a decade has passed, he's stuck by his principles throughout that time.
That 'crazy' Ten Hag is now at Carrington, but he's now more wily and experienced. Ten Hag has gained valuable lessons along the way to arriving at Old Trafford and he needed every ounce of his managerial nous to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo was a test of Ten Hag's managerial credentials and he handled the situation admirably. That distraction has been dealt with and he's recently been plotting how best to return to domestic action, which has included appointing a new psychologist.
Ten Hag is appearing to leave no stone unturned in his search for progress, which sees his side occupy fifth in the Premier League with 26 points after 14 games, and it's understood the club has hired performance psychologist Rainier Koers to observe training.
United travelled to Spain earlier this month for training as well as friendlies against Cadiz and Real Betis, and Koer was among the staff during that week.
Koer now comes into training at Carrington 'a couple of days a week' and his appointment is more evidence of Ten Hag obsessing over the minor details, which has brought him success at every club he's managed throughout his career.
Lisandro Martinez was the only player who won the World Cup from the 13 first-team members who represented United in Qatar and Koer is a welcome addition to training at a time when players have returned fresh from that disappointment.
The majority of the players crashed out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage and Koer will assist those who might be dealing with the disappointment of failing at a major tournament, which certainly seemed to affect Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho after England lost on penalties to Italy in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley.
Shaw, Maguire, Rashford and Sancho all endured the worst season of their careers after that final and perhaps that defeat was a factor in their low confidence at the start of last campaign, which they failed to rediscover as it progressed.
Regardless, Ten Hag is giving his players the best possible chance of regaining their momentum after the World Cup.
It's been a positive six months for Ten Hag and he'll be hoping for more of the same in the New Year.
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