NO EXCUSES

"The supporters have tried their best not to be too damning to the players over the last few weeks but that result was the straw which broke the camel's back," he told MUTV.

"They want to let off steam and while some of the criticism is a bit over the top, much of it is justified. People have been hoping the team would get back to form rather than expecting it to happen. There has been a lot of reshuffling at the back but they should still be producing better performances than they are. We are talking about top Premier League players with a lot of experience. They shouldn't be conceding poor goals to Manchester City."

"This is one of the first times I can remember Sir Alex admitting there are frailties in the team and I would imagine it was a bit loud in the dressing room afterwards. You can't just keep allowing things to go on like that without asking questions of the players."

Former striker Macari said:

"The one major thing I have noticed in the last month especially, is that the devil has gone out of our play a little bit. We don't seem mean and hungry. I’ve seen poorer United sides than that which have been a lot more committed. It just looks as if they needed to liven themselves up a little bit. The body language wasn't right. I've been fearing a result like this for a while now and I was just hoping it wouldn't happen at City. But it was coming."

Macari added:

"The hallmark of the glory years was how hard the team worked. That work-rate was never less than 100 per cent. It has just dropped off a bit and that's not good enough. I don't see the team we had out against City and Porto flying around the pitch, closing people down. Sometimes that alone is good enough to win you a game."