Whilst it was by no means a completely satisfactory season for the Old Trafford faithful last term, ultimately no one could accuse Manchester United and Louis van Gaal of not paying witness to an overall successful campaign throughout 2014/15.

In managing to eventually tie down an illustrious top four spot in the Premier League and once again begin a new campaign back under the all-important umbrella of Champions League football, the Red Devils have certainly begun to head in the right direction once again, one way or another.

The club spent a quite frankly obscene amount during last summer’s hectic transfer window, seemingly sacrificed their place in cup competitions in favour of prioritising the league – and in hiring the no-nonsense Louis van Gaal to swiftly take over from the somewhat lost David Moyes last term – Manchester United done all they could to re-establish their dominant name throughout the rest of Europe.

So then, with the 2015/16 campaign already fast approaching for Wayne Rooney and co. this summer, do the Red Devils have more than enough reason to remain optimistic ahead of the new season, or will the troubles ultimately continue for Manchester United as they look to move past this testing transitional phase in their history.

[ffc-gal cat="manchester-united" no="5"]

Well, if the calibre of their enigmatic manager is anything to go by, the signs certainly look promising at Old Trafford – even if they can only currently be viewed in a rather subtle light. Louis van Gaal is someone who has been there and done it before, which simply can’t be argued with.

Although the Champions League has traditionally remained a tough nut to crack for the Dutchman since he first moved on from the Eredivise all those years ago, the 63-year-old has still enjoyed several successful domestic campaigns with Barcelona and Bayern Munich since then, and that is something all Manchester United fans would be unwise to forget.

Sometimes a relatively slow start in the managerial dug-out acts as a surprise indicator for future success at the club. If Sir Alex Ferguson had been sacked after just one year in the job at Old Trafford, history would have worked out very differently indeed for the Red Devils – even though such a notion will admittedly come as little benefit to David Moyes looking back.

Nevertheless, Louis van Gaal is someone with a somewhat untouchable reputation in the modern era, which seems to be a necessity for success nowadays at Manchester United.

The likes of Juan Mata and Ander Herrera will likely continue their promising form in the middle of the park for United next term, supporting an attack force that has to score an abundance of goals sooner rather than later. Although marquee man, Angel Di Maria, hardly shone himself in the greatest of lights out on the pitch last season, 2015/16 offers the silky Argentinean the chance to put his off-filed worries behind him and finally start showing some true class worthy of his hefty price tag.

With new boy, Memphis Depay, also on course to maintain his rapid rise at the high profile setting of Old Trafford next year, Manchester United fans ultimately have every reason to feel optimistic. If the club can successfully source a few more promising new faces this summer, honing in the somewhat carefree spending practises that seemed to define the club’s transfer activity last year, then perhaps van Gaal will have finally rebuilt the squad that Sir Alex Ferguson left in a somewhat precarious position when he eventually departed Old Trafford in 2013.

Manchester United’s outstanding concern ahead of the 2015/16 campaign, however, is the dramatic need to improve their increasingly questionable back-line. Yes, persevering with young talents is all well and good when looking to build for the future – but as the likes of Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and arguably even Chris Smalling still, simply don’t represent enough defensive reliability going into the new season - something has to be done sooner or later.

As each of Mats Hummels, Nicolas Otamendi and Sergio Ramos have all gone down as reported targets for the Red Devils in the past few months though, maybe that particular problem will soon be addressed.

Manchester United can therefore look forward to an improved campaign throughout 2015/16 with all things considered, and a little bit of good fortune helping them along the way.

[ad_pod id='ricco' align='center']