Sport360° assess the challenges new Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal will face when he takes charge at Old Trafford after the World Cup. 

Clear out the dead wood
There are so many players at United who are nowhere near good enough. Bebe, Federico Macheda, Alex Buttner, Fabio and Anderson are all somehow still picking up a wage. Meanwhile, Darren Fletcher, Tom Cleverley, Nani, Ashley Young, Marouane Fellaini and Shinji Kagawa also face uncertain futures after poor seasons. He can’t axe them all, so will have to choose wisely when he launches the inevitable purge.

Make the most of his transfer budget

United are set to spend big to overhaul their squad. Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra – three of their regular back four of recent years – are all off, so defenders are high on the list. A move for Southampton left-back Luke Shaw is advanced, while central midfield is high priority. The fact that the abject Phil Jones played so frequently in the engine room last term tells its own story. He has always signed his countrymen in the past, so expect an influx of Dutch talent.

Stay on the right side of club politics
Whatever was said, Sir Alex Ferguson’s presence in the background was a problem for David Moyes. Van Gaal needs to make sure that doesn’t happen to him, while it is massively important he forges a good relationship with Ryan Giggs. He is likely to bring in his own backroom staff, but Giggs is his link to the current squad. And with so much transfer business to be done, he’ll have to work better with chief executive Ed Woodward than Moyes did.

Inspire Rooney and Van Persie
It’s certain these two will remain the core of United’s attack so he must get the best out of them. Van Persie was the main man in 2012/13, while Rooney took centre stage last season.If he could get them playing well in unison he’d have a great chance of success. Close to Van Persie through the Dutch team, he’ll have to forge a relationship with Rooney. The water is muddied further with both men being candidates for the captaincy vacated by Nemanja Vidic.

Starting the job late
With Van Gaal taking Holland to World Cup, he could potentially be with them all the way to the final on July 13. And with United set to fly out to the US for pre-season – minus their own World Cup stars – on July 16, the problems are obvious. Van Gaal will most certainly be making up for lost time when he starts his job. Delays with Moyes last summer caused the ex-Everton boss major problems, Van Gaal must be careful he doesn’t endure similar issues.