Eva Olid: Facing Early Challenges with Manchester United

Eva Olid doesn’t flinch when the criticism comes. She expected it.

Two defeats from two in the Women’s Super League. A 2-1 opening-day loss at London City Lionesses, then a brutal 5-0 home dismantling by Chelsea. Manchester United sit bottom of the table with no points and just one goal to their name. The questions were always going to follow.

For Olid, who arrived from Hearts in the summer to replace Marc Skinner, this is the price of change.

Under fire, but unshaken

Asked if the scrutiny has been hard to take, the 41-year-old Spaniard was blunt.

"Yes and no. That is part of the job. I don't think it affects me," she said. "It is constructive criticism and that is normal. I understand that. The first two performances have not been good.

"We are the first to say we are not happy. The other part is the part I don't understand - people wanting to hurt [us], but they are not going to."

The numbers are damning. Across those first two league games, United have managed just two shots on target and less than 40% possession in each match – a painful contrast to Olid’s vision of an aggressive, possession-heavy attacking side.

The ideas are bold. The execution, so far, is nowhere near.

Yet Olid refuses to let the early storm shake her belief.

"People that understand football know that the beginning and how you start does not define how you end the season. We know the direction and what we are doing will give us success in the long term.

"So yeah, I'm good. The only thing that is important for me is the players. I'm worried always that they need to feel good and strong, nothing else."

A brutal early test at Emirates Stadium

If United were hoping for a gentle reset, the fixture list has offered the opposite.

Next up is a trip to Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal on Saturday (17:30 BST). The Gunners are unbeaten in 19 WSL matches. United have not won there since November 2022.

It’s a daunting assignment for a side still searching for its identity and its confidence.

Bottom of the table is not where this squad expects to live. But is this simply the painful first step of a larger rebuild?

"Yeah, football is like life. You have good moments and difficult moments. I think all the teams in the season have a difficult moment. Ours is the start," Olid said.

"We are learning as a team to grow because the difficult moments make you grow. Once we've passed this difficult moment and start [to build] momentum, I think we will be so much better."

Her message to the dressing room has been clear: stop hiding.

"My main message [to the players] has been about them being themselves. They are not showing in the first two matches who they are and what they can do."

Between old steel and new style

Under Marc Skinner, United built their reputation on defensive solidity, organisation and resilience – qualities that helped take them into the Champions League quarter-finals.

Olid doesn’t want that foundation lost in the rush to reinvent.

"They cannot forget what they were good at before. At the same time, little by little, we need to implement the new style," she said.

That balance has not yet been found. In trying to absorb new principles without losing old strengths, the players have, at times, looked paralysed.

"The players have been so focused and thinking a lot – overthinking maybe – trying to do everything and in the end, they don't do anything because they are not expressing themselves like I know they can."

The intention is to evolve, not erase. Right now, though, United look stuck in between: no longer the compact, stubborn unit they were, and not yet the slick, front-foot team Olid imagines.

A rival’s view of the rebuild

From the opposite dugout this weekend, there is sympathy as well as competition.

Arsenal manager Renee Slegers knows exactly how unforgiving early judgment can be when you walk into a club and try to change the way it plays.

She pointed to the core dilemma facing any new coach.

"As a coach it's a decision you make – are you going to change things straight away or are you going to have another approach where, over time, you look to try to change things progressively?" Slegers said.

"That's probably the balance for her. I don't know what her philosophy is but I imagine it's a challenge. I understand the disappointment from a fan perspective - but there has been so little time."

Time, though, is rarely a luxury in elite football. Results shape patience. Performances shape belief.

United arrive at Emirates Stadium wounded, questioned, and searching for themselves. Olid insists this is only the beginning of a longer story.

The next 90 minutes in north London will tell everyone how much her players believe it too.