Life as the permanent manager of Manchester United got off to a fine start for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the caretaker's golden touch continuing into his full-time role.
But the Norwegian was emboldened enough to admit his side hadn't played well in the Old Trafford win over Watford. The three points were crucial, but the manner of the performance was a concern.
This was an eye-opener for Solskjaer , perhaps the moment he realised that stage two of his tactical evolution at United needed to be accelerated.
So far Solskjaer's United have thrived on the counter attack. He has the players at his disposal to play that way and at times it has been thrilling. The pace of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, the movement of Jesse Lingard and the incisive, long-range passing of Paul Pogba is a deadly combination on the break.
But it's not going to work every week. With four players over the 10 goal mark for the season in the league United have enough quality to hurt the opposition, but they need to move towards a more controlled approach.
While counter-attacking was a key part of Sir Alex Ferguson's United teams, it wasn't the only weapon they had. Sometimes it wasn't an option, but when lesser sides visited Old Trafford they controlled the game from start to finish.
That is something United have lost since his departure. It's not just the fear factor that has been eradicated at Old Trafford, but United no longer have the players to dominate games for the duration, they don't have the midfield that can grab control of the game and not let go until it had been won.
Watford were given encouragement throughout on Saturday, taking twice as many shots and enjoying almost half the possession. That's not good enough for United at home. It wasn't a one-off either. Watford joined Southampton, Burnley, Brighton, Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Fulham, Arsenal, Everton, Wolves and Leicester in scoring in the Premier League at Old Trafford this season. From United's point of view, it's not a great list.
Having developed this team into a finely tuned counter-attacking side, Solskjaer now needs to work out how to make them a dominant force at Old Trafford once more.
Defensive improvements will be key to that, especially finding that world class central defender to add some stature to the defence, but it's about taking authority into games as well.
Last week Louis van Gaal gave his opinion on Solskjaer's United, insisting he "parks the bus and plays on the counter." It had elements of truth to it, but playing on the counter was always going to be United's best approach in the short-term. It will always remain a vital ingredient, but it's about adding to that now, developing new approaches, particularly at home.
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In his BBC interview van Gaal added: "But the way Manchester United are playing now is not the way Ferguson played. It is defensive, counter-attacking football. If you like it, you like it. If you think it is more exciting than my boring attacking, OK. But it is not my truth."
That overlooks the fact that it's still early days in the development of this United team under Solskjaer, and that Ferguson's teams were capable of controlling games at home, of dominating the ball and the tempo. It wasn't always thrill-a-minute football, but it was often comfortable.
The uncomfortable success over Watford has shown Solskjaer what he needs to do next as United boss, what will be considered stage two of his tactical evolution.
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