It's over - Manchester United have won a trophy.
Nine months after Erik ten Hag stepped into the Old Trafford hot seat and nearly six years since the Red Devils last get their hands on silverware, they jubilantly lifted the Carabao Cup. First-half goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford, two players who've got Ten Hag's fingerprints all over them, gave United a comfortable 2-0 victory over Newcastle - but now the seriously hard work starts.
With one trophy in the bag and three left up for grabs this season, Ten Hag has both short and long-term targets to meet as the level of expectation rises. In an open letter to supporters, the Red Devils boss vowed that his side wouldn't grow complacent after their first taste of success, promising more memorable days like Sunday's trip to Wembley in the future.
With that in mind, here are four next steps for the United manager.
Keep the standards high
Winning once is one thing, winning again is another. After all, Ten Hag and co's run to the Carabao Cup final was likely the easiest - on paper - that he'll ever be handed even if he stays at Old Trafford for a decade, and a whopping £230million spent over two transfer windows significantly helped.
Plenty of Premier League sides down the years have peaked and quickly found themselves in a trough just a few months later, unable to clinch consistent success. Behind the scenes, Ten Hag and his staff has driven up the standards both on and off the pitch, and now their challenge is to keep the level high.
It seems the players are well aware of their manager's demands, but to emulate the kind of form which Manchester City and Liverpool have displayed in recent times, it takes a lot more than talk. City boss Pep Guardiola is someone who Ten Hag idolises and there's arguably no better gaffer in world football - at least since Sir Alex Ferguson retired - when it comes to making sure his teams are hungry for success year after year.
"We will go back to work today," Ten Hag wrote on Monday morning. "With full focus now on preparing to face West Ham in the FA Cup on Wednesday evening. There will be no complacency in our desire to return this club back to where we want to be."
Resolve the goalkeeping conundrum
As the Red Devils resume their FA Cup, Premier League and Europa League campaigns as March dawns, there are overarching issues which Ten Hag must address sooner or later. One of those is between the posts.
Earning his 181st shutout in Sunday's triumph thanks a fine team performance, David de Gea broke the record for most clean sheets as a United goalkeeper and was presented with a commemorative shirt by Ten Hag on the plane home. The 32-year-old Spaniard's feat comes as he's discussing a contract extension with the club after more than a decade as the Red Devils' undisputed No.1.
Fans are split on whether De Gea should be given a renewal, however, with 16 months remaining on his current £375,00-a-week deal. Still suspect with the ball at his feet and prone to the odd clanger, many supporters have pleaded with Ten Hag to sign a new 'keeper or recall the talented Dean Henderson, who's spending the season on loan at Nottingham Forest.
Ten Hag has backed De Gea all term and believes that the four-time United Player of the Year has the capacity to improve even further, although the Red Devils have been linked with a host of shot-stoppers in the transfer market.
Should they stick or twist? It's a looming question.
Find a resolution to the striking issue
At the other end of the pitch, Ten Hag faces a similar situation as in goal. Following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in November, the Dutch tactician was left with Anthony Martial as his only recognised striker and quickly became desperate to bring in another during the January transfer window.
Enter, Wout Weghorst. The 6ft 6in Netherlands international was parachuted in from Besiktas for a £2.5m compensation fee, where he'd spent the first half of the season on loan from Burnley.
Undroppable since his arrival, Weghorst has slotted into United's system rather comfortably but only boasts one goal in almost 15 hours of football. With Martial still out injured and the Dutch marksman set to head back to Burnley in June, Ten Hag is looking to recruit a new striker for the long haul.
A mega-money move for Harry Kane has been mooted, but would he leave Tottenham Hotspur in a Robin van Persie -esque transfer? Then there's Napoli 's £107m-rated Victor Osimhen, who leads the Serie A scoring charts with 19 goals in 20 league games this season, firing the Italian giants to an 18-point lead at the top of the table.
Or would Weghorst, if the Red Devils signed him permanently, and the mercurial Martial suffice for another season? We're not sure fans would be overjoyed.
Blood the youth
As one of the core tenets at Manchester United, bringing through players from the youth academy is firmly on Ten Hag's mandate. This season has seen dynamic winger Alejandro Garnacho explode onto the first-team scene and Stockport lad Kobbie Maioo is beginning to get regular tastes of action as part of the matchday squad.
There are plenty more to come, though, especially since the Red Devils won the FA Youth Cup last year. Bjorn Hardley, Mateo Mejia, Noam Emeran and Sam Murray have all been spotted training with the senior side in recent weeks, and due to United's hectic schedule, could be called upon between now and May.
As demonstrated with a picture of academy graduates celebrating the win at Wembley, it's vital that Ten Hag keeps up the tradition of blooding young players. He's already taken "final responsibility" of the Red Devils' under-21 side, telling Dutch magazine Voetbal International before Christmas: "This is totally new for the people at Manchester United, but I had already discussed it during the introductory talks with the club management.
Have your say! Who should Man Utd sign this summer? Give us your picks in the comments section.
"They were immediately open to it. They looked at Ajax with admiration because of how the club always manages to get youth players successfully through the system.
"There is a constant influx of talents at Ajax and I explained that’s because the basis of everything at the club is the youth Academy. When I was going home from my work at Ajax in the evening, I would often see the Under-8s or Under-9s training and I would stay to watch."
Just weeks after Ten Hag settled in Manchester, under-21s boss Travis Binnion exclusively told Mirror Football : "The manager's been great [with the academy]. He's got a track record of putting players in as long as they're good enough and this football club has, too."
It's clear that Ten Hag and United are a match, now the task is to turn promise into practice.
