I would add to this by adding tests gradually during this time. If there is no understanding from management that this is needed, do it guerilla style and do it anyway, maybe at a smaller scale.
In my mind, unit tests is not what you want to start with with a messy legacy codebase. It takes a huge amount of effort testing lots of already working code. Add unit tests for any new code, but try and implement tests for the entire system, functional/integration tests are also easier to argue for in terms for direct benefit for the customer. Unit tests are more for the developer and is harder to argue for.
Adding tests makes it easier to confidently refactor the code later on.
In my mind, unit tests is not what you want to start with with a messy legacy codebase. It takes a huge amount of effort testing lots of already working code. Add unit tests for any new code, but try and implement tests for the entire system, functional/integration tests are also easier to argue for in terms for direct benefit for the customer. Unit tests are more for the developer and is harder to argue for.
Adding tests makes it easier to confidently refactor the code later on.