The likelihood is that Erik ten Hag will be handed the title of manager when Manchester United eventually announce his appointment as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s long-term replacement.

But a more suitable description would probably be ‘head coach’. That is certainly a better gauge of what the club wants, certainly in the shorter term, as the Dutchman prepares to tackle that is close to becoming European club football’s impossible job.

United’s problems are too deep rooted and wide ranging for one man to fix and Ten Hag will be there primarily to coach, to get his hands dirty on the training ground and to give the team a structure and a cause to fight for, none of which has applied for some time.

For all the pressing questions about the way the club is run and the issues it could create for Ten Hag, certainly in relation to recruitment, the incoming manager’s remit will be, in the first instance, to focus obsessively on cutting through the dressing room cliques by getting players to buy into a clear tactical plan and driving individual and collective improvement. Any hopes of playing the attacking, entertaining, winning football United are chasing will require that as a minimum. “He’s got enough on his plate with that,” one source said.

It would be naive to underestimate the extent to which fan support for Ten Hag – and the backlash against Mauricio Pochettino – has influenced United’s decision, just as there is little doubt a club that has chewed up and spat out far more experienced managers is taking a huge gamble on the Ajax coach.