Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole believes Louis van Gaal could be the man to "get the show back on the road" at Old Trafford.
Van Gaal, the former Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and current Holland coach, is widely expected to be confirmed as United's new manager in the coming days.
If appointed, the Dutchman would inherit a squad that has slipped to a low ebb after finishing seventh in the Barclays Premier League and failing to qualify for the Champions League.
Cole feels the vastly experienced Van Gaal, 62, has the gravitas to steer the club back towards the top after a season of frustration under David Moyes, who was sacked in April.
Cole, speaking at bwin's 'Play at Old Trafford' event, said: "We are hoping this is the one that can bring us success again.
"It has only been one season when we haven't won anything - that is how crazy it is, that it is doldrums - but he has got the experience of managing at big football clubs.
"He has not managed in England but experience is massive, especially at a football club of this magnitude.
"He has European experience, knows how to deal with big-name players and has a history of bringing through kids as well.
"To have managed at those clubs he has managed at, you need something special.
"To see us playing the way we played last season was very difficult. It was upsetting and we had to take a bit of flak as well.
"But that is football. We have to bounce back from that and say, 'Next season is a new season, let's get the show back on the road'."
The obvious void for United next season will be the lack of European football.
Next season will be United's first outside the Champions League, a competition they won in 1999 and 2008, since 1995-96.
Cole fears that could have a negative impact when it comes to signing players this summer.
Cole, a member of United's treble-winning 1999 side, said: "To try to entice players to come to Manchester United without the European Cup, they are going to have to do some salemanship.
"That could be tough. The European Cup is a massive competition and all the top players want to play in it.
"Fingers crossed we will be able to get the players we need to make us compete next season for the Premier League and to get back into Europe.
"This is one of the biggest football clubs in the world. To not have European football next year - I don't know what I am going to do with my Wednesdays! No Man Utd in the European Cup? It doesn't sound right."
Cole's former team-mate Peter Schmeichel does not think the current squad needs a major overhaul, but also believes the hand of an experienced manager is essential.
Schmeichel, United's goalkeeper from 1991-99, said: "It looks like it is going to be Van Gaal and it is going to be announced some time soon.
"If it is him it is a very strong experienced manager. I think it is probably what the club wants now - someone with a direction, someone who can take charge and someone who has experience enough to withstand whatever pressures he would be facing.
"It is not major surgery that is needed, just little tweaks that if you combine can have an enormous effect. I don't think we are a million miles away.
"But I still think we need to sign players for a variety of reasons.
"First of all we need players, then we also need new inspiration and then we need, as a football club, to make statements.
"We need to say, 'Yes we had a bad season but we have got the powers to attract the top players'.
"I think those kind of statements are very important, to supporters, the outside world and to the squad.
"That would go a long way to restoring some of the confidence the squad lost in the season just gone."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article