One of Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag's first tasks will be nearly identical to that of one of his predecessors. He's here to make people's faces brighter again.

That was why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was brought in to take over for Jose Mourinho in November 2018, a caretaker spell that was supposed to lift the mood in the short term but turned into a long-term relationship that didn't work out. Thankfully, Erik ten Hag's coaching credentials were deserving of the United job when Solskjaer's weren't, but the 52-year-old Dutchman will inherit a dressing room that is experiencing a similar crisis of belief as Solskjaer's.

Mourinho's caustic approach and the battles he was picking around the club had warned them down on that occasion. The improvements were immediate after the Portuguese were fired and Solskjaer's light-touch management took over.

So it's ironic that the mood in the dressing room is as bad as it was when Solskjaer arrived, despite the fact that he was relieved of his duties during the season. What progress has been made?

When the former United striker was fired in November, it appeared that the club needed a smart tactician and a modern coach to build on his achievements, but Ralf Rangnick's appointment was a risk that has backfired spectacularly.

The German had only spent two of the previous ten years on the United training ground, and he was a complete unknown to the team. He needed to win them over fast but failed to do so, compounding the problem by appointing coaches who were virtually completely unknown to his staff.

Since a promising start to the season came to a halt with defeat in Switzerland in the opening Champions League game of the season, Rangnick has only managed 10 victories in 25 games and 16 wins in 41 games.

So it's no surprise that morale is at an all-time low, and the players have little faith in Rangnick's ability to turn things around. In his media briefings, he's growing more critical of the club, which is just contributing to the camp's divisions.

Those remarks have been positively received by the fans, but the reality is that Rangnick will leave this team in a worse state than when he arrived, which is awful for any temporary manager.

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Ten Hag might chat with Rangnick once he's finished with Ajax and can devote his whole attention to United, but there's only so much he can learn. Rangnick's forthright views may appear to be exposing an underperforming dressing room, but given that the squad hasn't enjoyed their time under him and that his handover to Ten Hag will be of limited use to the new manager, why would you pay too much attention to the views of your underperforming successor, regardless of industry?

When Ten Hag takes control, the easiest victory could just be someone different. Like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ten Hag's teaching quality has been recognized in the dressing room and could allow him adopt a different approach to Rangnick.

It's apparent that the roster needs to improve, and the team's mental fragility has been a huge problem at times this season, but just as many players improved after being released from Mourinho's constraints, there will be an upturn when Ten Hag replaces Rangnick.

The challenge ahead of the current Ajax manager is undoubtedly daunting, but rebuilding morale and instilling confidence should be simple enough for a modern coach with a track record of developing players on the training ground.