Jose's biggest challenge

Barring either a catastrophic loss of form that sees us bomb out of the Europa League in the quarters and plummet down the league, or an Eva-esque meltdown, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that by June, Mourinho will have bought himself another season in the eyes of the club's executive management.

Assuming that the ship's course holds, what do people see as being Mourinho's biggest challenge in his bid to return United to the very top of England's footballing pile?

Here are some suggestions:

Building a dominant midfield

Many of us went into the season excited about the strength and depth of our midfield options: Pogba adding power and real creative quality, Herrera finally established and more consistent, Schneiderlin with a clean slate and the opportunity to demonstrate his Southampton form, the elder statesmen Carrick and Schweinsteiger offering experience, consistency and class. And then there was Fellaini.

Six months later and two are gone, Carrick looks like he may well be in his farewell season, and Herrera and Pogba, whilst looking strong and comfortable in a midfield three, have really struggled when Jose has set us up in a 4-2-3-1 or, in recent weeks, 3-4-3.

We are yet again going to need to invest in quality for the first team and refresh the squad options in the centre of the park, and Jose is going to need to settle on a three man midfield or find a way to get much, much more from Herrera and Pogba in a two if we are going to challenge for honours next season. Which brings us to...

Replacing Carrick

Mr Dependable; a wonderful servant to the club.

Like Scholes, Carrick has aged like a fine wine, delivering in his senior years consistency, a cool head, a cohesion to our midfield play, reliable distribution, and magnificent protection for the back four. A comparison of our results with and without Carrick in the side over the last few years says all that needs to be said about his importance to the side.

Unsurprisingly, our best performances have come this season when Carrick has been deployed as a central defensive midfielder, shielding, controlling the shape of opposition attacks, intercepting, and distributing from deep, allowing Pogba and Herrera to stay stationed further upfield.

To find a player who can provide the same quality in both cover and distribution is no easy feat. The names suggested by fans would represent bank-breaking acquisitions. Or maybe a redefinition of the defensive midfield role is coming...

Finding efficiency and consistency in the final third

Assuming Ibra stays, how does Jose reduce his reliance on the big man both in-game and across what could be another 60-something game season? The man is a physical marvel, but age is a fact of the elite sportsman's life, and Zlatan, contrary to his proclamations, is not invincible.

How does Jose convert the exceptional raw talents of Rashford and Martial to goals? How does he get the best out of Mata and Mkhi when we play without a number ten?

We've seen fluidity in our forward play from time to time this season: when it has looked good, it has often looked great; but profligacy in front of goal in particular has hurt our progress. Do we need another clinical out-and-out striker bringing in to rotate with or support Ibra, or can we work on refining the end product of others?

Balancing his small squad approach with burnout and injuries

This has always been a worry for me with Mou's approach. The shrinking squad that we have has ten or so players that look decidedly ready for a break. Pogba has played forty-odd games already and has looked shot in recent weeks; Smalling and Jones look sluggish; even the ever-bright Herrera has looked off the pace.

Can Jose reconcile his desire to minimise rotation and stick to a core of fifteen to eighteen trusted players with the physical demands placed on a team expected to compete to win four different tournaments?

(cont. below)