Gareth Southgate's decision to omit Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho from his latest England squad perfectly highlights the magnitude of the task that Erik ten Hag faces at Manchester United.
The United pair were an integral part of the Three Lions side that reached the Euro 2020 final last summer but within 12 months, they're not even a part of the 27-man squad for the upcoming Nations League doubleheader against Hungary and Germany.
In fairness, their form didn't warrant a call-up from Southgate but not many would have predicted such a rapid fall from grace. Sancho has mightily struggled since making the move from Borussia Dortmund a year ago, while Rashford's form has been equally as poor as both players have found themselves on the fringes for the majority of the campaign.
The latter has been linked with an exit from the club in the upcoming transfer window as a result, while there are lingering concerns over the amount of money paid for Sancho and if he can rediscover the form he showed at Signal Iduna Park.
The pair are two of the most talented players at the club but the fact their form has nosedived is a huge concern for Ten Hag. The new United boss is under no illusion that he has taken on an easy task as he claims he only has a "short time" to execute his plan to take the Red Devils back to challenging for Premier League titles.
There's been plenty of talk about recruitment and who Ten Hag, who was officially unveiled at United on Monday, will sign this summer with as many as 12 players expected to leave Old Trafford.
But as far as the Dutchman is concerned it's imperative that he improves the levels of the current crop of players, including Sancho and Rashford, something he is confident that he can achieve.
Asked about the number of new players the club might need, Ten Hag said: “I’m still in the process of analysing, to set conclusions.
“I’m looking forward to working with these players. The season before, this squad was second in the league, so there is huge potential. I think if we improve, if we work with them, I think we can get out more than what was the result from this season.”
"We have a plan and now it’s about to get the plan done, to co-operate, to be consistent in our plan. The plan is huge and we only have a short time”.
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Asked about how long it would take for United to realistically challenge for the title again, Ten Hag said: “What we are thinking about is this is a project.
“I know it takes time, but I also know that in this club, and I have the experience with other clubs like Ajax and Bayern Munich, at the top there’s never time.
“But we want to win, we want every game, so we go from game to game and then we will see.”
