After a rollercoaster first six months at Manchester United, Erik ten Hag can finally see a calm route ahead.
No longer compromised by the shadow - and sideshow - of Cristiano Ronaldo's brooding presence in the background, Ten Hag can continue to build United in his vision. Ronaldo's uncertain future overshadowed Ten Hag's pre-season with United, then the campaign began with humiliating back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Brentford.
Calm was restored with victory over Liverpool, only for United to go down 6-3 at neighbours Manchester City, which left Ten Hag questioning the spirit and hunger of his players.
Since then, United have lost just once in 12 games in all competitions, and Wednesday night's Carabao Cup tie against Burnley affords Ten Hag the chance to show they remain on the right path under him.
United have gone five years without a trophy, their longest spell without silverware for four decades, which is why the tie has assumed such significance for Ten Hag and the squad.
The Burnley tie is also an opportunity for several of United's forwards to push their claim for a regular starting spot, in United's first competitive game of the post-Ronaldo era, following his exit last month.
While United want to add a striker, midfielder and right-back, there is an acceptance within the club that those positions are unlikely to be filled in January, with their first-choice targets unavailable.
Against that backdrop, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Elanga and 18-year-old attacking sensation Alejandro Garnacho all have the chance to flourish.
Martial, in particular, can make the No.9 role his own at United, and finally deliver on the potential he has so far failed to fulfil in seven eventful years at Old Trafford.
After plundering 23 goals – his best return for United - in the 2019-20 campaign, Martial managed just seven the following season and was then marginalised following Ronaldo's return, undertaking an unsuccessful loan spell at Sevilla.
Injuries have restricted the 27-year-old to seven appearances this season, but with Martial now fit, the resumption of the domestic campaign post-World Cup is a chance for him to prove his enduring worth.
Rashford will be looking to take up where he left off for United, having notched eight goals before the World Cup break, three more than he managed in the whole of last season.
Underused by Gareth Southgate in England's knockout ties in Qatar, having scored twice in the final group game against Wales, Rashford returns to action for United with a point to prove.
Elanga and Garnacho are still finding their feet at United, but the latter underlined his prodigious talent with a sublime 90th-minute winner at Fulham to seal a 2-1 win before the World Cup break.
Garnacho is likely to start tonight, against Vincent Kompany's Championship leaders, along with Martial, as United's World Cup knockout stage stars are given an extended break before the visit of Nottingham Forest in the Premier League next Tuesday.
Securing a top-four spot and a return to the Champions League is the priority for Ten Hag is his debut season, with the Red Devils currently fifth, three points behind Tottenham, with a game in hand.
But Ten Hag knows winning a trophy can be the springboard to sustained success, as it proved for him at his former club Ajax.
That is why victory on Wednesday - and a quarter-final place - would underline the fine rebuilding job he has undertaken, one that will be less hazardous now the distraction of Ronaldo has been removed.
