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Manchester United's long-standing pursuit of Mauricio Pochettino is well-documented, and the club has finally landed their coveted manager following the 54-year-old's confirmation as Michael Carrick's full-time replacement.
The Argentine steps in with the urgent task of dousing a rapidly spreading fire at Old Trafford, and restoring the club's deeply troubled foundations is far beyond a single person's capabilities. The Red Devils find themselves in dire straits, both on the pitch and behind the scenes.
Improvement will require patience, as his predecessors have painfully learned, and there is already a mountain of obstacles standing between him and success following United's catastrophic start to the 2026–27 campaign.
With that in mind, here are the five most significant challenges confronting the former USMNT manager.
Raising Morale
Where this particular chapter sits within United's ever-expanding catalogue of crises remains debatable, but the club has sunk to its lowest point of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. With the side stuck in the relegation zone and having claimed just three wins from their opening 15 league fixtures, Pochettino inherits the thankless task of reviving spirits within a thoroughly deflated dressing room.
Even stunning fightbacks against Roma and Aston Villa in Carrick's final two games have been received more like defeats. Several players in red were too mortified to celebrate at the end of the extraordinary 4–4 stalemate with the Villans, which under normal circumstances would have brought some satisfaction after two late goals in stoppage time.
"I don't feel happy—we are in a bad situation. We need to fight together to get out of it. Draw better than a loss but we had the better opportunities," Patrick Dorgu vented after the final whistle, despite having contributed both a goal and an assist to spare United some embarrassment—if only marginally.
It comes as little shock that this weary collection of high-priced players are disheartened, and recent outbursts from Lisandro Martínez and Bruno Fernandes indicate that frustration is mounting with every successive disappointment.
How quickly can Pochettino restore morale and inject belief into his new squad? The former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea boss is an upbeat character and a skilled man-manager, but even he cannot perform miracles.
Fixing the Premier League's Leakiest Defense
Lens (31), who recently conceded nine goals to Como in the Champions League, are the only side across Europe's top five leagues to have let in more goals than United (30) this season. The Red Devils also boast the third-worst defensive record in the Premier League and have shipped two or more goals in each of their last five outings.
No expert analysis was needed to foresee United's defensive struggles before the season began—though the sheer magnitude of the collapse remains staggering. The club's choice to overlook defensive reinforcements in the transfer window, opting instead to target midfielders, was always going to come back to haunt them.
Going into the season with just one senior left back in the injury-prone Luke Shaw was a gamble. Neglecting to upgrade the unconvincing Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui at right back was equally questionable. And United clearly needed to bolster their center-back options, particularly given that two of their five underwhelming choices in that position are only 20 years old.
Regrettably for Pochettino, he must wait until January before any defensive reinforcements can be brought in. In the meantime, he faces the challenge of organizing a shambolic backline that is sorely lacking in quality, leadership, and consistency.