Former Dutch national team manager, Ronald Koeman, is likely to be under no illusions as to the size of the task ahead of him upon taking over at Barcelona.
The blaugranes former player was unveiled as Quique Setien’s successor on Wednesday morning, and it appears that one of his first tasks will be to sit down with captain and talisman, Lionel Messi.
There are serious concerns that the Argentinian might finally leave the club after a disastrous season ended with Barca winning nothing at all for the first time since 2008.
Setien was always going to fall on his sword after a horrific 8-2 Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich, so Koeman really needs to hit the ground running.
His managerial career to date doesn’t inspire confidence though, with his last league title coming in 2006/07 with PSV.
He’ll therefore likely need all of the help he can get, and that means keeping Messi onside from the outset.
According to Sport, Koeman wants to sit down with the No.10 as soon as possible and gather his opinions on a number of issues arising within the squad.
It appears that it will be made clear to Messi that he will not be allowed to leave and will be required to be the cornerstone of Koeman’s new project.
In order for him to acquiesce to that, however, the Dutchman will need to be at his persuasive best.