When Jose Mourinho began working as the manager of Manchester United there were mutterings of concern among the club's powerbrokers.
He remained too confrontational, too combustible, seemingly still simmering after his bitter exit from Chelsea. But even before the Portuguese had lifted the first trophy of his United tenure at Wembley on Sunday, the mood towards him had changed.
Sir Alex Ferguson has told former colleagues that he thinks Mourinho is the manager the club have been looking for since he retired, and other senior figures share that view. 'It's hindsight, of course, but we really do wish we'd got him three years ago,' one insider remarked.