There was a time earlier this season when Manchester United were heading out of Europe, the fans were turning on the players and the press were ganging up on Alex Ferguson to such an extent that he looked as though he was on his way out of Old Trafford with everything to his name but a happy ending.
The good times seem to be flooding back and even if Ferguson cannot guarantee that his side will catch Chelsea he has, at the very least, convinced Malcolm Glazer he is still the right man to take the club forward.
Ferguson, United confirmed last night, will be invited to remain at Old Trafford for a 20th season as manager, allowing him one final chance to re-establish England's biggest club as the Premiership's dominant force.
It will be a formidable challenge, not least when considering Chelsea's optimism about signing Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, but it is a task that the Glazers clearly do not believe is beyond him.
"Alex will remain in charge next season," David Gill, United's chief executive, confirmed after talks with the club's American owners. "Why would we change a winning team?
"These are exciting times for Manchester United. We have just announced a record-breaking sponsorship deal, we're in the process of increasing the stadium capacity to 76,000 and the team is making great strides on the field. The manager is a key part of that and his future is not up for discussion."
A similar message has been relayed to Ferguson although, in truth, he has been planning for next season ever since he was given £12 million to spend on Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra in January. Ferguson is predicting "one hell of a league next year" with United, Liverpool and Arsenal all hoping to break Chelsea's hegemony, although his priority remains the current campaign and the all-out assault on catching the league leaders, beginning with Arsenal's visit to Old Trafford tomorrow.
Seven points behind with six games to go, Ferguson has avoided making any "silly statements" that could haunt him at the end of the season. Nevertheless, his every remark yesterday was laced with self-belief.
Ferguson is a master at unnerving opponents but, for once, his target was not Arsene Wenger as he talked about a weekend that is "assuming near-historic proportions" and the implications for Chelsea if United could make it nine successive Premiership victories.
"A couple of months ago Chelsea were almost out of sight," he said.
"They are still in the driving seat but the outcome is not quite so settled as it once seemed. I would go as far as saying that if we win (against Arsenal) we are capable of going all the way. We will see what Chelsea are made of on the last lap, especially when we go to Stamford Bridge almost on the finishing line.
"It's something new for them and we don't know how they will react. There are still lots of ifs and buts and it's quite possible they could handle the pressure. But if we beat Arsenal it gives us a major opportunity if Chelsea make any more mistakes and drop any more points. They have been dropping points recently and when you lose form at this stage of the season it is not always easy to get it back. It's not like turning the gas on and off."
Tomorrow will be Arsenal's first league match at Old Trafford since the Battle of the Buffet in October 2004 when Ferguson was pelted with pizza slices by the visiting players. The FA have acted accordingly, bringing in their highest-ranking referee Graham Poll and sending the original choice, the much-maligned Phil Dowd, to cover Brentford versus Bradford.
Ferguson welcomed that decision, as much because of his dislike of Dowd as any admiration for Poll.
He concluded by describing his team's form as "top-class" since February, particularly when compared to their erratic performances before Christmas.
"We kept our heads. We didn't succumb to the abuse, we didn't buckle and we have come out the other side."
