Erik ten Hag had to 'walk through minefields' in his first few months at Manchester United as he dealt with the explosive Cristiano Ronaldo situation, according to close confidants of the manager.
The club was in such a mess, ex-United manager Louis van Gaal attempted to persuade Ten Hag not to accept the job last summer.
But the Dutch coach took up the challenge despite knowing his methods would likely bring him on a collision course with the Portuguese star.
So it proved, with Ten Hag dropping Ronaldo to the United bench after they were humiliated 4-0 by Brentford in their second Premier League game of the season.