Ex-Manchester United striker Michael Owen said he was concerned by what he was hearing from manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the club’s defeat to Newcastle last Sunday.

Speaking about the United boss and the squad, Owen questioned whether the Norwegian knows how to get the club out of their current crisis and believes some players have regressed in their development in recent months:

“Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in his interview afterwards, I was almost slipping down my chair, it was almost like he doesn’t know what’s going wrong, let’s say. We can all speculate as to what’s going wrong.”

“He can look over his shoulder and think down the road you’ve got Jurgen Klopp, you’ve got [Pep] Guardiola – these are managers that are actually improving their players, they’re getting the best out of their squad.”

“I’m looking at that [United] squad and, if anything, the players are getting worse. They’re devaluing, as a squad they’re getting worse. Where is it all going to end?”

There are mitigating circumstances for United’s poor run of form. They currently have ten players out injured but the performances in recent games have been very concerning.

The Red Devils have made their worst start for thirty years, having picked up just nine points from their opening eight games. They are currently languishing in the bottom half of the table and face league leaders Liverpool at Old Trafford after the international break.

United are sweating over the fitness of Paul Pogba who is a major doubt for the game with a foot injury.