After the release of the 2016/17 Premier League fixtures thoughts are shifting towards the new season starting on 13 August. Adrian Clarke looks at where each of 20 clubs might seek to improve. In the latest article, he focuses on Manchester United and their new manager Jose Mourinho.
For Manchester United to revive the standards expected at Old Trafford, Mourinho has a lot of work to do over the coming months.
Brushing up on their away form, while maintaining the solidity they showed in front of their own fans in 2015/16, will help to get them on to the right path.
Too often last season, United became ragged and easy to play against on their travels.
Conceding first in nine away matches, and winning just one of those and losing seven, a general lack of team shape and togetherness as a unit cost them points on a regular basis.
Mourinho will no doubt spend this summer drilling his players so they are far harder to break down on the road.
He will also focus on making them a more lethal counter-attacking side.
Mourinho must get his team also to score more goals. A total of 49 goals ranked them a lowly 10th in the Premier League rankings last season, 22 behind the division's leading scorers Manchester City.
In addition to a prolific striker, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, coming in, it is just as important that United find greater drive and creativity from central midfield.
Passing too slowly, providing insufficient runners from deep and showing a lack of instinctive imagination, the United midfield lacked ambition under Louis van Gaal.
Ander Herrera, with two, was the only orthodox central midfielder to provide any assists, and between them that unit scored a mere five goals.
Wayne Rooney's conversion to a deeper role may help but it cannot be down to the captain alone. A box-to-box goalscoring midfielder is almost certain to be targeted.
Man Utd's opening fixtures
| MW1 | AFC Bournemouth (a) |
| MW2 | Southampton (h) |
| MW3 | Hull City (a) |
| MW4 | Man City (h) |
| MW5 | Watford (h) |
| MW6 | Leicester City (a) |
Mourinho will want to get off to a flying start as United manager but his reign begins with two fixtures, AFC Bournemouth away and Southampton at home, in which they were beaten last season.
When you throw in home matches against Manchester City and Leicester City, coupled with trips to Anfield and Stamford Bridge, it looks like the first few weeks could be pretty taxing for the new man.
If Mourinho gets the better of Pep Guardiola, his arch rival, in their first Manchester derby on 10 September, the United fans will quickly be optimistic of a successful season.
