Harry Maguire believes Manchester United have a "fresh start" as they head into a new season seeking to bounce back from a historically poor 12 months.
United finished 15th in the Premier League last season, and not even a run to the Europa League final, where they lost to Tottenham, could paper over the cracks.
But the big-name signings of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, as well as a £50 million ($67m) training ground upgrade, have given United a spring in their step to go into the new campaign.
They welcome old rivals Arsenal in their season opener on Sunday.
"The lads are working hard and it's a great atmosphere in the place," Maguire said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.
"We want to be successful, we're doing everything we can to be successful. Sometimes we know it's not been good enough for a recent [period] and we've not given our fans as much.
"I feel like it's almost a little bit of a fresh start and hopefully this start is a good start."
Maguire, who joined United's preseason trip to the United States late for a personal matter, joined the club six years ago from Leicester in an £80m deal, a then world record fee for a defender.
"There has been a transition period, obviously, when Sir Alex [Ferguson] was here and we had the best team by far and won all the trophies," Maguire said.
"But the reality is that we're not the best team.
"You've got to thrive off the pressure and you've got to play like you're playing in a playground. I think that's what we've struggled to find over the last 10 years."
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Maguire has polarised opinion at Old Trafford and struggled under former manager Erik ten Hag, who stripped the England centre-back of the captaincy and dropped him from the first team.
A move to West Ham in 2023 collapsed as Maguire decided to fight for his place and he has found himself back in favour since the arrival of Ruben Amorim last year.
A 12-month extension to his contract was triggered by the club in January.
Addressing the criticism he gets at United, the 32-year-old said: "I think there's more scrutiny on Manchester United just because more people in the country hate them -- and that's just a fact."