Pick a new captain
In hindsight, Ralf Rangnick might have kept Harry Maguire on for the remainder of the defeat to Atletico Madrid. Maguire is an occasional threat at set-pieces and Rangnick ought to have known his withdrawal, and the relinquishing of the captain's armband, would provide some cheer to sections of a crowd that mock-celebrated Marcus Rashford's substitution earlier this season.
Maguire might already be at St George's Park, back in his happy place of the England camp. Players can dismiss social media noise but when it is amplified by matchgoers then sometimes there is no coming back. Maguire is not viewed as a credible captain by many United supporters or by some of his teammates and the 18-day gap between matches is not going to prevent the topic from arising at Rangnick's next press conference in two weeks.
Bruno Fernandes, a regular starter who will have spent two-and-a-half years in the United pressure cooker come the start of next season, has captained the club a number of times and would be a logical long-term inheritor of the armband.
READ MORE: Why Ten Hag is ideal for the United board
Goodnight, and good luck
Uruguay announced last night Edinson Cavani is in their squad for this month's World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Chile, so it is safe to assume Cavani is out of United's next match with Leicester on April 2. Cavani has not been involved in any of the post-internationals fixtures this season.
The 35-year-old is one of five players whose contracts are scheduled to be shredded on July 1. Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Lee Grant are the others. It would be senseless to make an 11th-hour offer to keep any of them.
Sell, sell, sell
There is a saying that a bad decision is better than indecision. Last summer, United were rife with indecision, as Lingard, Anthony Elanga and Donny van de Beek would attest. This summer, United have little choice but to trim an underachieving squad, particularly if they fail to finish fourth.
With the exception of David Moyes, every recent United manager oversaw an exodus during their first summer in charge. Ander Herrera, Romelu Lukaku, Chris Smalling, Alexis Sanchez and Matteo Darmian all left in the summer of 2019 and similar decisiveness is required.
Eric Bailly and Phil Jones have outstayed their welcomes, Anthony Martial has had two good seasons in seven and Aaron Wan-Bissaka is a £50million misfit. Van de Beek and Dean Henderson may get new leases of life if Erik ten Hag took over but Van de Beek favoured the comfort zone of Everton in August. Now he is in an uncomfortable relegation scrap.
Recruit in the manager's image
Whether it is Ten Hag or Mauricio Pochettino, one of the few guarantees with either coach is United would have an identity. Ten Hag has succeeded at Ajax with a 4-2-3-1 formation and when Barcelona deprived him of Frenkie de Jong Ajax embraced the Total Football-inspired 4-3-3. Pochettino's Tottenham, at their peak, thrived in an intense 4-2-3-1 and would attack with a back three, utilising defensive midfielder Eric Dier's versatility as he dropped to centre-back.
United will have done due diligence on their next managerial appointment but, irrespective of the next manager, the recruitment strategy has to place the emphasis on the collective. United have long had a predilection for individualistic signings when the best recruiters in the Premier League consider the benefit a signing will have on their teammates.
Luis Diaz could be pivotal in the title race as he has slotted into a forward line that has a consistent way of playing and he eases the burden on Liverpool's older attackers.
Maintain standards
The situation for United is so bleak they may have to wait for Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp to up sticks if they are to become championship challengers. They can lament their lucklessness but there were opportunities to hire either coach in the past.
Already, a title challenge next season seems improbable but it would be remiss of United to settle for another gradual progression as if they are led by a manager from the Norwegian league again. They should be under the charge of an eminent coach and have to flesh out the spine of a potentially successful side (Fernandes, David de Gea, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo).
There are ebullient youngsters (Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga and Hannibal Mejbri), committed assets (Fred, Diogo Dalot and Scott McTominay) and a burgeoning academy pool for the next manager to also draw from.
Reconnect with supporters
Maguire hails from Yorkshire, so his popularity with some Greater Manchester matchgoers was always going to be minimal. He was also an overpriced purchase, prematurely promoted to captain and has not had the transformative effect Virgil van Dijk and Ruben Dias, recruited the year before and after Maguire, have at United's biggest rivals.
With Rashford, he is Wythenshawe-born and a boyhood United fan who came through the club's academy. It is sad that, less than six years on from his captivating career and Premier League debuts, Rashford's relationship with some United supporters has soured. Rashford's form has been problematic for 15 months and that is the source of frustration among the fanbase.
As part of the doomed 'cultural reset', United stressed the need for the players to make time for supporters. The pandemic has driven a wedge between them but, whatever the result, there is a disconnect after games at Old Trafford. Some security personnel practically genuflect to the players as they emerge from the tunnel and many walk straight ahead. United also misread the room with Rangnick's first match in charge by failing to introduce him to the crowd.
An open pre-season training day at Old Trafford, an annual event at the turn of the century but last held in 2010, would be welcomed.
