Louis van Gaal's Manchester United revolution... how the signings, formation, training and captaincy could shape the Dutchman's first season at Old Trafford

• Dutch boss faces his first competitive test against Swansea on Saturday
• Van Gaal has already made significant changes to life at Old Trafford
• He has educated the players in his favoured 3-4-1-2 system
• Wayne Rooney has been named captain, with Darren Fletcher No 2
• Several players could still leave the club, as Van Gaal shakes it up

Louis van Gaal faces his first competitive test as Manchester United manager on Saturday against Swansea at Old Trafford, giving fans their first meaningful taste of what the Dutchman will bring to the club after a disastrous campaign under David Moyes.

Having won all six of their pre-season friendlies, spirit is high, and without European football to contend with, United are tipped to return to the top four with a vengeance.

Here, Sportsmail gives you the lowdown on Van Gaal's United revolution... how the training, tactics, mentality and captaincy will shape the season to come.

On the Training Ground: Formation

Louis van Gaal has spent the past month educating his players on his favoured 3-4-1-2 system. It is viewed as a pragmatic way of getting the best out of Juan Mata, while it will also allow Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie to play as central strikers. Long gone, also, will be the days when Danny Welbeck was expected to prioritise defensive responsibilities on the wing.

In the long term, United view Adnan Januzaj as a No. 10 - it is why they were never really interested in Everton's Ross Barkley - and the Belgian will be handed opportunities to shine in that position along with Mata. Van Gaal will be prepared to revert to a traditional 4-4-2 when he sees fit but at Carrington, the focus has been on getting the players up to speed on the new system.

On the Training Ground: Changes

The attention-to-detail has been quite remarkable and United's players have responded to Van Gaal's methods. At one point in a training session in the USA, Van Gaal even demonstrated to Wayne Rooney how he should take a penalty kick. He also sent his assistant Marcel Bout to study Valencia at the Emirates ahead of a friendly game.

At Carrington, he immediately instructed his superiors to correct the windy conditions at the club's training ground. United will plant trees to shelter the first-team pitches. £500,000 HD cameras have been installed to track players’ every move in training.

United insiders say that Van Gaal admonishes and encourages his players in equal measure but crucially also explains why something is wrong and how it can be corrected. He, also, is open to players responding with their own solutions.

Backroom Staff

Ryan Giggs has immediately forged a cohesive understanding with the new manager. The Dutch enclave, though, are prevalent on the training ground. Albert Stuivenberg is rated among the most impressive coaches in world football and impressed Van Gaal as the youth coach at the Dutch FA.

Van Gaal relies upon his assistant Marcel Bout for analysis on opponents, and was sent to London to study Valencia at the Emirates ahead of a friendly game.

It is understood that David de Gea has been pleased with the coaching of Frans Hoek, after previously enjoying fruitful relationships with Eric Steele and Chris Wood.

Mentality

Van Gaal is, slowly but surely, knitting the fabric of this club back together. At dinner time in the USA, the players would eat at round tables to encourage integration, conversations and prevent the forming of cliques. Van Gaal and his staff would sit at a top table.

In the lead-up to the Premier League season at Carrington, United have been doing double training sessions, with a morning session and an early evening session. In between, players can sleep in beds at the AON Training Complex or pop home for an hour or two. For lunch, the first-team and the youngsters eat together.

On Tuesday evening against Valencia, many senior players - Robin van Persie, Michael Carrick, Danny Welbeck, Jonny Evans and several more - were joined in the director's box by young James Wilson, who is creeping into the mind of Van Gaal after another four goals against Manchester City in the Manchester Senior Cup final last week. The dozen or so players were suited in United colours, accompanied by reserve team manager Warren Joyce and his assistant Nicky Butt.

They all arrived to their seats together, walking uniformly up the steps and they exited the half-time break as a group. It is the kind of togetherness that Van Gaal is attempting to instil at Old Trafford.

Captaincy

Ten years on from his big-money to Manchester United, Wayne Rooney is the sensible selection as the club's captain. There will be those United fans that argue that no Liverpudlian should ever captain this club, let alone one that asked to leave in 2010 and - according to Sir Alex Ferguson - agitated for a move only 12 months ago. It is difficult to believe that only last August, Rooney trooped back to the half-way line alone as United's other players celebrated a goal in David Moyes' first league game in charge at Swansea.

Nonetheless, Rooney will become United's greatest goalscorer - he is currently third with 211 goals - and is expected to match Sir Bobby Charlton's 249 goals within the next two or three years. We should not forget that previous captains have also agitated for moves away. 

In 1999, Roy Keane held the club to ransom over a new contract and eventually became the club's highest earner on £52,000 a week. He said at the time: 'I was a bit annoyed with the first offer put to me. Deep down they must have known it wasn't something I could sign. Our dealings have to be realistic. I am not naive enough to settle for anything less than a reasonable valuation of my worth.'

Even Eric Cantona, at the height of the public furore surrounding his kung-fu kick, faxed a transfer request into United, furious at his treatment by The FA. So maybe the sceptics should go a little easier on Rooney. At this moment in time, it is the right decision by Van Gaal. If he had selected Van Persie - who has been absent from pre-season - it would have been deemed as clear favouritism.

Van Gaal knows Van Persie well enough to eek the best out of him without a piece of ribbon around his arm. Rooney is the right man for the job.

And Darren Fletcher, as vice-captain, has gone down as an immensely popular decision among both players and supporters. Everybody at Manchester United has untold respect for the resilience and courage demonstrated by Fletcher in the last few years. 

Van Gaal tends to have a player that is trusted unequivocally by his players in this position. It is interesting, for example, that Dirk Kuyt was his vice-captain for Holland. In pre-season, he has been back to his dynamic and imposing best. We should all wish him well.

Shaking up the squad: The outs

Several have departed - Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Alex Buttner and Angelo Henriquez - and it is expected that more will follow in the coming weeks. Nani, Anderson, Rafael, Javier Hernandez and Marouane Fellaini are reported to be among those most vulnerable. 

United would prefer to sell Fellaini but recognise it may be more economically viable to loan him out for a season and then recoup more money through a permanent sale next summer.

Van Gaal sees himself as an instructor of footballers and despite his view that the squad he inherited lacks balance, the Dutchman believes he can prove the existing batch considerably. The water into wine transformation of Ashley Young has been remarkable. 

The winger looks at home in the wing back position and also appears to have learned how to tackle under Van Gaal's guidance. He would surely have been moved on had David Moyes remained.

The same fate could also have awaited Darren Fletcher, Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck had also made clear his frustrations. Who knows, also, if the fractured relationship between Moyes and Van Persie would have been cured? All those players are now central to Van Gaal's plans and he has also reenergised Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Juan Mata. Ander Herrera is an important and exciting recruit in the midfield.

It remains to be seen whether the faith in young players will continue once the 'real business begins' - as Van Gaal put it in his programme notes on Tuesday evening. Tyler Blackett has been composed as part of a defensive three, blessed with pace and presence at the back. Reece James - only two years ago released by Preston North End - is now in with chance of starting on Saturday against Swansea. 

His story is remarkable and much is down to Warren Joyce, who offered James a deal just when he was considering moving to the USA. In the two years since, nobody has played more times under Joyce than the 20-year-old James, and while reinforcements may yet arrive, James is very much under consideration by Van Gaal at Old Trafford. Loan moves are expected for Michael Keane, Nick Powell, Will Keane and possibly Wilfried Zaha.

Shaking up the squad: The ins

The injury suffered by Luke Shaw - and concerns over his fitness - may intensify efforts to recruit Daley Blind from Ajax while Marcos Rojo has moved onto the horizon after United dropped out of the chase to sign Thomas Vermaelen and Stefan de Vrij.

There may yet be one more midfielder that arrives. United deny that Arturo Vidal is a target but the speculation persists in Italy and his native Chile. Roma's Kevin Strootman is also an option but that move would wait until January or next summer. Real Madrid's Angel Di Maria is also a target.

Demeanour

Famous for his rucks with the big names - Rivaldo at Barcelona, Franck Ribery at Bayern Munich - Van Gaal's only quibble so far has been with a 19-year-old - Luke Shaw - over a perceived lack of fitness. Winning helps, of course, and United have won every single game in pre-season.

Van Gaal's pitchside manner, relaxed in his seat, has visibly calmed United's players. It is, to an extent, a return to the Ferguson days, where the Scot would observe from his chair and only occasionally storm the touchline to influence his players or the officials. 

Van Gaal is even more restrained, carrying his folder down the touchline and making notes on his pad during the game, ready to correct any faults in the dressing room at half-time. Against Valencia, I don't recall seeing Van Gaal enter the technical area once.

As with his general disposition, players don't quite know what Van Gaal is thinking when he is watching on. It must be a little unnerving but it seems to be drawing the best from his players so far.