Olid’s introduction to life at United was far from straightforward.
She inherited a thin squad and new policy of prioritising developing academy players over making signings, while also wanting to implement a new attacking style of football.
It was a big ask. Perhaps too big. In her opening two games, United lost 2-1 at London City Lionesses before a galling 5-0 home defeat by Chelsea.
Olid believes that humbling loss to a title rival – in front of United’s own fans – proved to be a turning point in her relationship with the team.
“It was a difficult week,” she says. “There were honest conversations. I took responsibility for a lot of things. I think that was a good starting point for the players.
“I was confident. It’s crazy to say, I was confident because I knew what the problem was. And when you know the problem, you can change that.”
Olid – a defensive midfielder during her playing career, who took pride in doing the simple things well – decided to strip things back.
“I spoke, they spoke, and we knew what we had to do,” she says. “That week was difficult – a lot of emotions – but going to Arsenal, we fought for each other, there was hard work. I think it was the perfect starting point for a good moment.”
A 1-1 draw at the Emirates was the start of a five-game unbeaten run during which they have climbed from the bottom of the WSL to seventh.
Olid says there is more to come.
“When you are in Manchester United, you need to find a way to win,” she says. “It’s a challenge – how you can win and at the same time develop players and at the same time implement a new style of play.
“You need to find the balance of all that together. And I think these last weeks, we got to that point.”

