Graeme Souness insists that Erik ten Hag will eventually rue his decision to keep Bruno Fernandes as Manchester United's vice-captain, suggesting that player power has got the better of the Red Devils boss.
With club captain Harry Maguire spending most of this season on the bench, Ten Hag has largely elected Fernandes to lead United and backed him in the face of scrutiny. That was no more apparent than in the aftermath of the Red Devils' humiliating 7-0 defeat to arch rivals Liverpool at Anfield two months ago, as Fernandes was lambasted for what Souness describes as "appalling" behaviour.
Ten Hag remained faithful to the Portuguese midfielder, who was also backed by his team-mates, but Souness maintains that the United manager is making a mistake. "Bruno Fernandes is obviously not a leader, it's as plain as the nose on the end of your face," the ex-Liverpool captain and boss - who recently announced his departure from Sky Sports after 15 years - said in William Hill's Up Front With Simon Jordan.
"His attitude when they went 3-0 down at Liverpool was appalling. You certainly would not want to be in the trenches with him. When you become a captain of a football team it's about setting an example on the pitch and off it."
Souness did go on to hail Fernandes' undeniable ability but reckons that the 28-year-old doesn't have the minerals for when the going gets tough. "In the case of Bruno, you'll see him be a star when you're on top of the opposition and on the front foot, and he can be a real talent, but he showed a side to him that day at Anfield which was very unattractive," the Scot affirmed.
"Erik ten Hag has then chosen to overlook it because he knows going forward that Bruno will win him games and score goals. But he'll think, the next time he comes up against a really difficult situation, is he going to go missing? I think he already knows the answer to that."
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Souness added: "I think the fact that Erik ten Hag backed Bruno up is another example of modern management - the tail wags the dog in football these days. There's only one club in the country where that doesn't happen and that's Manchester City, where the manager (Pep Guardiola) is all-powerful, and the players respect him."
It doesn't seem that Ten Hag will be following Souness' advice any time soon, though, making clear after his team's record-breaking loss to Liverpool: "He's playing a brilliant season, he's had a really important role in why we're in the position where we are, and he's giving energy to the team - not only running a lot at the highest intensity but the right way and right direction.
"He's coaching players, he's an inspiration, but no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, we have to learn, he has to learn and he will, because he's intelligent. I'm happy to have Bruno Fernandes in the team and happy that he's captain when Harry isn't on the pitch."
