It's fair to say Erik ten Hag has endured a stuttering start to life as Manchester United manager.
Through no fault of his own, the Dutchman's task looks even hard than it did when he was officially presented as the new Red Devils chief back in May. Speaking during that unveiling, he made clear his desire to strengthen his ranks and added: "The plan is huge and we only have a short time."
Yet, almost six weeks on and, as he brings the curtain down on his first week in pre-season with his new players, Ten Hag's squad is weaker than the one he inherited. He has lost big characters including Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Nemanja Matic and has so far struggled to bolster his ranks.
However, there may be a method to United's madness. Looking back at Ten Hag's transfer approach when he was appointed Ajax's manager back in December 2017, and it suggests that the Dutchman has a knack of landing experienced signings for cut-price fees.
Indeed, he signed no less than 11 players during his first 12 months with the Dutch giants. The three standout signings, though, were Nicolas Tagliafico, Dusan Tadic and Daley Blind; all three immediately became regulars and none of them cost more than £15million.
Given United's reputation as one of the biggest clubs in the world, Ten Hag will find it harder to land bargain signings. He is cautious when it comes to making signings but when he gets it right, the rewards are worth it.
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This perhaps explains why United haven't thrown money around in the summer window - yet. While Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham waste no time adding to their ranks, the Red Devils seemingly stalled on the start line.
But now they are revving their engines. Two signings are as good as done, with Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona for £56million rising to a possible £74m with add ons and Tyrell Malacia for £14m from Feyenoord.
Ten Hag is familiar with the pair, having worked with De Jong at Ajax and came up against Malacia numerous times in the Dutch top-flight. It may well look like United have so far stumbled in the summer window, but Ten Hag's reserved approach makes complete sense.
Why splash the cash on big names? United have been here before - and it hasn't worked out. Ten Hag has previously spoken about signing the right characters to help him build United back up to a European powerhouse.
He said: "First of all, we want to make the fans proud. Second, of course we are in this moment, the current situation is obviously not that good. It's a big challenge.
"I want to build and construct a team who are battling for each other, who are unified and who will get results. Also we are playing in the Theatre of Dreams. We want to entertain. But in the end, the intention is to play fantastic football. If we can't play fantastic football, we still have to win."
Ten Hag hit the nail on the head. Yes, he wants winners - but he also knows he needs players who are willing to fight for each other. There hasn't been enough of those players since Sir Alex Ferguson called time on his glittering career in 2013.
David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have all tried and failed to return the club to their heyday. Now it is up to Ten Hag to adopt a different approach; one that has proved successful at Ajax.
The signings of Tagliafico, Tadic Daley Blind is evidence that Ten Hag knows a bargain when he sees one. It may have been a questionable window so far, but the new era at Old Trafford is slowly starting to gain momentum.
