Ralf Rangnick barely had time to familiarise himself with his new surroundings before he'd already spotted a glaring Manchester United weakness.
It was less than 12 hours after the full-time whistle had been blown at the end of United's thrilling 3-2 win over Arsenal and Rangnick was tasked with the challenge of presenting his pitch to the world's media for the first time as interim manager.
He said: "Yesterday's game was exciting for the fans but for myself those are not the kind of games that we need every day because football is to minimise the coincidence factor and have control.
"The major target for me in the next couple of weeks is just to bring more balance into the team. Even yesterday, we conceded two goals and needed three goals, in the end, to win the game.
"If you look at the total number of goals conceded, it is almost two, on average, per game, and this is just too much."
It became immediately apparent that the German's first objective, like for most managers when they are hired to arrest a sinking ship, would be to tighten things up defensively. United had conceded nine goals in the four Premier League games that proceeded Rangnick's maiden press conference and it was a run that could not continue.
Armed with his pleas for United to have control in matches and to stop leaking goals, the players appeared to be buying into his methods with two clean sheets from his first two Premier League games at the helm, stopping both Crystal Palace and Norwich from scoring.
United secured both of those clean sheets without the help of star-name centre-back Raphael Varane. The Frenchman was edging closer and closer towards a return following a spell on the sidelines with a groin injury, which robbed him of yet more opportunities to make his mark in a United shirt following his arrival from Real Madrid.
But his return against Newcastle the day after Boxing Day — even if United failed to record a third successive clean sheet — gave everyone a lift. Varane is a figure that his team-mates look up to and seek inspiration from. After all, why wouldn't you when you're playing alongside someone who has won pretty much everything that football has to offer?
And the statistics suggest that United's players have benefited from when Varane has played this season and not been consigned to the treatment table. Of the 12 Premier League games the France international has featured in this season, United have lost just twice, those being narrow 1-0 defeats to both Aston Villa and Wolves.
In comparison, United have lost four of the eight Premier League games he has missed through injury since joining the club, winning on three occasions.
Varane's influence cannot be overstated, even if United have only kept three clean sheets when he's been present in the Premier League this season.
But while his injury issues have hindered his start to life at Old Trafford, the Frenchman has quietly, perhaps even under the radar, gone about shoring up United's defensive troubles, with his most recent performances, in particular, at the standard United's supporters would have expected from him when he walked out onto the hallowed Old Trafford turf, clutching his No.19 shirt, for the first time ahead of the season opener against Leeds at his official unveiling.
Furthermore, both Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire — the latter who produced his best performance for a considerable amount of time against West Ham last weekend — have looked more assured and commanding when Varane has been stationed alongside one of them.
Injury troubles, managerial changes and patchy results have threatened to overshadow Varane's first season at the club, but his impact, even if it has been in short bursts, and United's decision to sign him, is proving to be worth its weight in gold.
Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.
