The story surrounding Manchester United's summer tour in the US is mostly positive. When coach Ruben Amorim took a flight back to Manchester, he felt like the whole club - from the players, the staff to the fans - had been empowered to face the reality ahead.
After easy wins over West Ham in New Jersey and Bournemouth in Chicago, the 2-2 draw with Everton at Atlanta Falcons' Mercedes-Benz stadium has partly exposed Man United's familiar problems.
Bruno Fernandes, after the match, frankly commented that the team was "lazy" at some points. Although Amorim did not completely agree, he did not argue or criticize his captain.
"I think we had some difficulties today. The general feeling is that the team plays below expectations, but is still under control. For me, it is an ideal feeling to return to Carrington and start with the mindset: we need to do much better" - the Portuguese captain said.
As someone who pursues a positive mindset, Amorim is still very aware of the big challenge ahead. That is to get Man United back on track to victory, a team that has just had its worst season in more than half a century.
The consistent message from Amorim and the players is to return to the European arena. But even that would require them to close the gap to the top of the table by more than 20 points.
After a difficult 8 months since being appointed to replace Erik ten Hag, Amorim has tried his best to turn this summer into a fresh start for Man United.
One of his most important decisions has been to remove Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia from the US tour. This action is to send a clear message: only truly committed and dedicated players have a place in Amorim's squad.
Every activity during the trip to the US was designed by Amorim with the goal of putting the common interest first. The new regulations are applied to encourage team solidarity.
At the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in central Chicago, the team's dining room was rearranged with larger round tables to limit the division of small groups, giving players more opportunities to interact and connect.
Part of Amorim's disappointment with Marcus Rashford - who has now moved to Barcelona on loan - is that he tends to stick with one best friend, rather than focus on the team. For Amorim, good relationships off the pitch are the foundation for creating closer connections on the pitch.
In Chicago, players are allowed to walk around the Magnificent Mile neighborhood in the evening after practice sessions. Instead of holding two training sessions per day as usual during pre-season tours, Amorim took the initiative to spend most of the afternoon so that the players had more time together.
These are signs that the collective spirit is gradually building in the direction Amorim wants.
