Former set-piece coach, Eric Ramsay, left midway through last season to manage Minnesota United in the USA. But with Jason Wilcox having been appointed as United’s technical director, Fletcher’s future remains unclear, with the former United midfielder effectively without a role. There are many other key members of Ten Hag’s coaching team, including club doctor Gary O’Driscoll, fitness coach Paolo Guadino, head of performance analysis Paul Brand and strength and conditioning coach Michael Clegg, but those are the major roles and figures to whom the Dutchman delegates.

One key area Ratcliffe and his newly-assembled team of football executives are looking to improve is United’s paucity of goals. United’s move to recruit Hake, 52, raises questions over the future of McClaren and Van der Gaag, although the latter has worked with Ten Hag for years and would only be likely to leave to take on a bigger role elsewhere. Hake went into management at Ten Hag’s first club as a player, FC Twente, with the two men having both coached Utrecht and Go Ahead Eagles, who he led into Europe for only the third time in their history last month.

The thinking at United is that Hake will bring fresh ideas and tactical input to Ten Hag’s approach, reinvigorating and energising the coaching team, with Van Nistelrooy helping the forwards rediscover their scoring touch. There is so much more to come from both strikers in terms of their goal output and Hojlund, in particular, could learn a great deal from Van Nistelrooy about the art of being in the right place at the right time, to find the net on a consistent basis. Van Nistelrooy was unrivalled in terms of his movement in the six-yard box, knowing when to time his runs to perfection to get on the end of crosses and loose balls in predatory fashion, something Hojlund struggled with last season.

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