It was Ralf Rangnick's first day on the job as Manchester United manager and he was conducting the endless media duties that come with one of the most high-profile gigs in the game.
The interim manager had seen United beat Arsenal at Old Trafford the night before and while he spelt out a few home truths, he was bullish as well. The 63-year-old gave the impression that he could see plenty of room for improvement and, perhaps more importantly, how to fix it.
After facing the cameras for his first press conference he sat down for a more intimate discussion for the Sunday newspapers. The subject of his relationship with Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel was a popular theme and towards the end, Rangnick was asked how he felt about taking on Klopp, Tuchel, Conte and Guardiola. For a manager, the Premier League is the place to be.
“I am more than optimistic, but I also have to be realistic," stressed Rangnick.
“Five weeks ago, our team lost 5-0 against Liverpool - and it could have been a lot more if we are honest. Against City it was 2-0 - but it could also have been more.
“It was important to win the point at Chelsea but the performance? I don’t know. They had 24 shots on goal and we had three.
“So right now, to say I will challenge the top Premier League managers in the next few weeks or months is not realistic.
“Right now my focus is on Crystal Palace and then on Young Boys, then Norwich, then Brighton and then Brentford.
“The games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City will be in March and April - and that’s when I will answer the question about challenging them."
At this point, March seemed an awfully long way away, especially when the Rangnick reign began with a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace. The potential improvement graph in the three months to follow looked appealing.
But all of a sudden it's the start of February and it hasn't worked out like that. Rangnick has won six of his 11 games in charge but the toughest opponents in that run have been West Ham at home and Aston Villa away. The penalty shootout defeat to Championship side Middlesbrough on Friday night exposed the cracks once again. Progress has been slow when the fixture list presented an opportunity to get ideas across quickly.
Rangnick looks to have settled on a 4-3-3 system and recent weeks have offered the illusion of control, but in truth this still doesn't look like a Rangnick side. The pressing is sporadic and brief and when the ball is won the attacks aren't as quick as he would like. The defence has improved but goals are hard to come by.
Having surrendered the first burst of momentum picked up under Rangnick, United are now running out of games to finetune this game plan. They face Burnley, Southampton, Brighton and Leeds before the Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid on February 23, with Watford at home four days later.
All five of those Premier League games are winnable but since Rangnick took over United have failed to beat Newcastle, Wolves and Aston Villa in the league. It would be a surprise if all five games were won on current form.
Rangnick's quotes on his opening day made clear that this was the chance to build understanding in his methods and earn results that would build confidence in them as well. That hasn't happened but the process has to be accelerated between now and the end of February.
When March begins United faced City, Tottenham, Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Leicester City in successive games. That is going to be a testing run.
Rangnick was 'more than optimistic' about taking on the managerial elite in the Premier League, but time is running out to do it on a more equal footing.
