The Red Devils have been down in the doldrums for years, and whilst Ruben Amorim's appointment was eventually shown not to be the right one, the Portuguese, belatedly, had them playing some reasonable stuff, which saw them ease up the Premier League table.
Michael Carrick has been tasked with restoring not just pride to the club, but also aiming for a Champions League spot that isn't beyond them at this point.
Bruno still being relied upon at Man Utd
He'll need all of his players singing from the same hymn sheet, of course, and one who he can rely on to deliver is captain, Bruno Fernandes.
The Portuguese star has often been accused of whining or not leading with a captain's example by some pundits and ex-players, but to his credit, he's always been ready to face the cameras directly after a defeat, and won't shirk from telling it how it is.
What he may lack in terms of the type of leadership that, for example, Roy Keane or Bryan Robson provided, he more than makes up for with his contributions on the pitch.
Impressive EPL stats
This season alone, he's already provided the most assists in the Premier League to date (10) and weighed in with five goals of his own.
Indeed, ever since he joined the club from Sporting back in 2019, he's produced the goods season in and season out, and in the Premier League, his stats are impressive.
During 2019/20, his record was 14 games, eight goals and seven assists.
2020/21 - 37 games, 18 goals, 12 assists, 2021/22 - 36 games, 10 goals, six assists, 2022/23 - 37 games, eight goals, eight assists, 2023/24 - 35 games, 10 goals, eight assists, and in 2024/25 he amassed 36 games, scoring eight goals and providing 10 assists.
Not just goals and assists
To give even more perspective to that area of his game, and taking into account games in the English top-flight, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Community Shield, Europa League and Champions League for United, Bruno's total of 103 goals is at least 10 more than anyone else (Marcus Rashford, 93), whilst his 94 assists is 55 more than his teammates - Rashford again being the closest with 39.
Of course, his game isn't just about goals or assists.
Although his 78.8% passing accuracy isn't the best in the squad, and actually is amongst the worst - with most members of the playing squad since 19/20 averaging 80% and above - his 16,513 passes are in the region of 2,500 more than any other player (Harry Maguire - 13,946).
Only Victor Lindelof, with 11,331, tops the 10,000+ mark, but importantly, 11,601 of Bruno's passes have been forward and in the opponent's half, compared to just 5,310 from Maguire and 3,682 from Lindelof.
In terms of crossing ability, his 118 successful deliveries are again best-in-class, with only Diogo Dalot (100) also hitting the century mark in terms of crosses reaching their intended target.
As if to labour the point as to his importance further, the midfielder has also made the most tackles out of the entire squad since 19/20 (570), and also won the most (316).
His winning back of possession on 1,657 occasions during that time is 488 more instances than the teammate nearest him in this regard (Maguire - 1,169).
Did we also mention one-on-one duels? Here too, Bruno is way out in front.
Attempting 2,911 is 950 more than nearest pursuer, Rashford (2,061), whilst his success in this regard - 1,318 duels won - is yet again more than anyone else in United colours.
United can't afford to let Bruno leave
Whatever might be said about his temperament, Fernandes can point to his output on the pitch as more than enough evidence that he remains the main man at Old Trafford.
Which brings what could happen this summer into much sharper focus.
Reports suggest that the player has become disillusioned with how the club is being run and would potentially consider one last big payday elsewhere to see out the remainder of his club career.
United know that Bruno has a contract until 2027 with the option of a year's extension, but their conundrum is that he will be 32 at the start of next season and, given that it's reported any salary uplift would have take the player to in the region of earning £400,000 per week, whether it would make business sense to sign off on such terms.
At present, the player holds all the aces, and if he decides on a new adventure, there's precious little United would be able to do about it.
If he were to indicate a wish to stay, then the board simply cannot afford to dilly-dally.
To coin another phrase; "Give him what he wants."
