Erik ten Hag needs stability to emulate Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola at Manchester United after being humbled in his first ever Manchester derby on Sunday afternoon.
That's the message from Rui Faria, who served as assistant manager to Jose Mourinho during his time in the United dugout between 2016 and 2018.
Fast forward to the present day and United are still reeling from their 6-3 demolition in the Manchester derby.
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Beaten in the opening two games by Brighton and Brentford, United were on a four-game winning streak heading into their showdown with City. But with their confidence now dented again, Faria suggests Ten Hag needs time and backing to get his ideas across and make United a genuine force once again.
During an interview with The Times, Faria said: "We arrived at a club that was missing stability, and its identity, and you don't just click your fingers and rebuild it. It takes time, and you also need to win, because people will not accept if you are not winning."
Faria added: "So when Jose says [2016-17] is one of his best seasons he's right, because we achieved the last titles that the club won and its best period since [Sir Alex] Ferguson. What is missing - still - is the stability, and the club needs it to define what it wants.
"At City, it's the sixth season Pep [Guardiola] was there so he has the stability of putting his concepts into the club, the stability to buy players to fit his concepts, the stability to buy on top of successes."
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