Erik ten Hag inherited a fractured Manchester United squad from Ralf Rangnick that was struggling to reinvent itself following the incredibly successful Sir Alex Ferguson era.
A sea of managers from David Moyes and Louis van Gaal to Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had been hired and fired as the Red Devils' hierarchy repeatedly tried and failed to restore the club to its former glory.
Some of the aforementioned managers enjoyed positive moments with Van Gaal lifting the FA Cup and Mourinho overseeing United's first-ever Europa League title win. But ultimately, the Red Devils remained in the rut they found themselves in from the day Ferguson retired, with the whole squad feeding off the negative energy to the detriment of the club.
Solskjaer was in charge in 2019 and had the idea of inviting United legend Roy Keane to the Red Devils' Carrington training base.
Solskjaer was hoping that the Irishman could pass on his experience of being club captain during United's heyday under Ferguson and articulate what it means to represent the Red Devils.
But details that emerged from the secret training ground visit suggested things didn't go as planned with Keane less than impressed with one unnamed individual, who looked disinterested as the seven-time Premier League winner addressed the players.
It is not known whether Keane called out the player, but what is known is that he was far from happy.
A training ground source told Mirror Sport at the time: "As you'd imagine Roy has strong views on what it takes to be a proper United player and he gave it to them straight.
"He wasn't impressed with one player who didn't seem to be all that interested and looked as if he'd rather be somewhere else."
Keane's experience said a lot about what was going on at United at the time as there was no sense of cohesion within the squad.
Ten Hag has worked hard to address this since his appointment and so far the Dutchman appears to be on to something.
Immediately after he put pen to paper, Ten Hag laid down the law with five commandments for his players to follow.
Among them was the request to come to him with any problems or concerns rather than to relay them to their agents, who could then leak them to the press.
Ten Hag hoped that this would protect the integrity of the dressing room and improve the atmosphere within the squad.
So far there is evidence to suggest his plan has worked as Ten Hag has largely closed the door on training ground leaks and has targetted hard-working professionals in the transfer market - Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez being two good examples.
There are no plans for Keane to return to Carrington any time soon, but the Irishman would likely find a different group at Old Trafford these days with Ten Hag firmly in control of his squad - much like Ferguson was in his day.
