Anyone can have a bad start, it's all about how you recover from early adversity that makes the difference.

Manchester United have faced a whole heap of adversity in the first quarter of the season. A lot of it has been self-inflicted but much has been out of their hands as well.

The protracted takeover process is now on the verge of - if not a complete conclusion - a long-awaited step in a positive direction but the months of uncertainty have helped drain all the optimism Erik ten Hag built in his first year. Add several off-the-field issues, an unaccountable injury crisis and nearly all the top stars playing below their best, it's a perfect storm for a disastrous start.

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Ten Hag would have had his eyes set on a genuine Premier League title challenge before the campaign began and with good reason given the progress he made last season and the new recruits he got in the summer. But those hopes are all but completely extinguished.

United have already dropped 12 points and given that the league winners have hit 89 points or more in four of the last five years, only around 13 more points can afford to be dropped in the remaining 30 games. United are yet to even play Manchester City or Liverpool, so that's fairly unfeasible. The standard is incredibly high now and United are not yet up to it.

But it doesn't mean the campaign needs to be a complete write-off. Progress can still be made domestically and in Europe despite the dreadful start. But improvement is needed. Quickly.

While not much can be done about the injury plague that has decimated the United defence, the players who remain fit and available can take control. Rasmus Hojlund and Bruno Fernandes aside, not one of United's star players have come out of the first section of the season with credit in the bank.

Three players in particular need to dramatically improve if United are going to start consistently getting results. Perhaps none more so than Andre Onana.

There were always going to be teething problems when bringing in a goalkeeper who would completely change how the side sets up but, by his own admission, Onana has not been good enough. It's not only miscommunications and expected mistakes with the ball at his feet, but the Cameroonian has been letting too many shots he should be saving sail or squirm into the net. He isn't inspiring the confidence from the rest of the team he was supposed to in replacing David de Gea.

Ten Hag wanted Onana to help bring the side closer to his ideal style of play but it isn't yet working. If he doesn't begin stepping up his game then United will continue to concede preventable goals and they will not function properly as a team.

Despite Hojlund's best efforts, United are continuing to lack goals of their own while shipping too many. They are the only side in the top half with a negative goal difference and are in dire need of Marcus Rashford to rediscover himself again.

The No.10 enjoyed a career-high 30-goal return last season, as well as adding 11 assists, but is once more looking low on confidence and is making poor decisions. There have been flashes of the danger he provides with some exciting runs past defenders, but his meaningful contributions have become few and far between. United were short on goals last season when Rashford was scoring, let alone now when he isn't.