5 CHALLENGES FACING JOSE MOURINHO AT MANCHESTER UNITED.

As Manchester United prepare to appoint Jose Mourinho as Louis van Gaal's successor, he has to face at five challenges awaiting the former Chelsea manager at Old Trafford.

1 Unite and excite the supporters

Mourinho's first task will be to unite the disgruntled supporters who booed Van Gaal at Old Trafford and Wembley last week. The FA Cup triumph ensured the Dutchman's tenure ended with silverware, but it will not be remembered happily overall-and many fans made sure he knew it.

2 Spend wisely in the transfer market

Mourinho must also oversee a dramatic improvement in the transfer market. The club ploughed around a quarter of a billion pounds into player recruitment during Van Gaal's tenure, but Anthony Martial is one of only two or three big-money signings to have lived up to their billing.

The £59.7m purchase of Angel Di Maria stands out as the most expensive disappointment, and the squad is packed with recently-recruited players who have failed to meet expectations. Mourinho must decide on which underperforming players to persist with, and he must also invest in the right reinforcements.

ALSO READ: Jose Mourinho confirmed as new ​Manchester United manager.

3 Embrace the youth

Amid the gloom of Van Gaal's final season in charge, there were considerable bright spots from the club's academy. Marcus Rashford's extraordinary breakthrough was a particular cause for celebration, while Jesse Lingard, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson also impressed

4 Curb the confrontation?

Will Mourinho's confrontational side shine through or will he be a reformed character at Old Trafford? He styled himself as 'the happy one' on his return to Chelsea, but United will be wary of how his second spell in west London unravelled.

5 Convince De Gea to stay

United's new boss must do everything in his power to keep hold of David de Gea. The Spanish goalkeeper won his third consecutive player of the year award for another vital contribution this season, and it is scary to imagine where United might be without his consistent brilliance.