Erik ten Hag must provide what Manchester United have previously lacked ahead of new season

"Getting somewhere is one thing, staying somewhere is another. We want to go even higher and challenge the top clubs in Europe."

The words of Erik ten Hag as Ajax manager in 2021, but a couple of sentences that could equally apply to the Manchester United of 2023.

The Reds went somewhere last season. They secured a top three finish in the Premier League for only the fourth time in the past 10 years, while winning the Carabao Cup and reaching the FA Cup final. There were signs of progress.

The job Ten Hag did in his debut Old Trafford campaign is widely considered to be a positive one. Now comes the challenge of building on it.

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To trot out the oft-used music analogy, this is the difficult second album. Sticking to football, it's second-season syndrome. Often used to describe teams who stayed up in their first campaign ahead of a second, it equally applies to United.

Third last term, they won't want to regress in terms of league positions. A trophy in the cabinet this year, they won't want to be empty-handed next.

United have seen false dawns before since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Jose Mourinho arrived as a name and the FA Cup but things gradually unravelled despite a second place finish. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw some early highs but his tenure turned sour.

Ten Hag seems to have more authority, a clearer identity than his predecessors and as such seems well-placed to ensure an upward trajectory. But he knows last term must be the start of his vision, the building blocks.

"We can take a lot of positives into