Eva Olid has learned more about her new Manchester United side in the past week than in the whole of the previous month since she took over from Marc Skinner. Even with difficult pre-season results and a summer of transition hinting at teething problems, her methods had been sufficiently implemented on the Carrington training pitches to be confident going into last Friday's curtain raiser at London City Lionesses. Olid knew her first WSL game was going be a challenge against Michelle Kang's star-studded big spenders but the manner of their 2-1 defeat - and a 100th-minute consolation from their only shot on target - was not on the agenda.

"What I saw surprised me a little bit," she tells Sky Sports, ahead of an already crunch showdown with Chelsea on Sunday. "We lost the game by ourselves, we didn't do what we had to do." She admits United will need to strengthen in January but insists those already there can succeed, citing her experience working in small spaces in Spain and crediting Natalia Arroyo for similar observations on physicality and technical ability.

There was always likely to be a period of transition following five years under Marc Skinner, despite his record of overachievement and momentum needing to be rebuilt after a sour ending to his reign, a four-game winless streak at the end of last season. But Olid was never going to lose that courage of conviction, having "revolutionised" former club Hearts and culminating in a first ever Women's SPL title last summer.