David Moyes will be relieved to finally start his first Premier League campaign in charge of Manchester United at Swansea on Saturday after a tumultuous opening to his Old Trafford reign.
If Moyes was in any doubt about the pressures facing him as Alex Ferguson’s successor, he is no longer under any illusions afer a turbulent first few months since arriving from Everton.
The Scot has inherited an unsettled Wayne Rooney, who has been the subject of two offers from Chelsea and has made it clear he wants to move to Stamford Bridge.
Moyes has also failed with much-publicised pursuits of Thiago Alacantara, who preferred to join Bayern Munich from Barcelona, and the Catalan club’s Cesc Fabregas.
He was also rebuffed when he returned to his former club Everton with a US$18.8 million offer for the England defender Leighton Baines.
On the field, United endured a pre-season tour of more than three weeks before there was a rare piece of good news for Moyes when he picked up his first silverware with a 2-0 win over Wigan in the Community Shield last weekend.