Manchester United's situation is so dire even Pep Guardiola couldn't salvage it, according to former Liverpool man Steve Nicol.
Erik ten Hag has taken over as manager, and lifted the mood with some impressive pre-season results. However, after a defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, the size of the new man's task has become clear.
Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, United have seen four permanent managers come and go, as well as more than one interim appointment. Ten Hag is the fifth to try to bring the club back to their past glories, but Nicol has argued even multiple Premier League title winner Guardiola wouldn't be able to fix what's broken.
"You can only fix it by getting in better players," Nicol told ESPN FC. "It becomes the old adage about the coach and the players.
"This Manchester United team right now, this squad of players, absolutely confirms that it doesn’t matter how good the coach is. If you have players who are not capable of playing at a level where the club should be, it’s not going to happen.
"You can talk until you're blue in the face and you can stay from nine in the morning to nine at night on the training field, but if the players are not good enough, if they can’t take it in, if they can’t deliver it, eventually you have to get players out the door and bring in players who can do it."
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"All it's telling you is whoever has been bringing these players through the door, they don’t know what they are doing, it's as simple as that," Nicol continued. "You can go and switch Erik ten Hag to Manchester City and bring over Pep Guardiola to Manchester United, and Manchester United would still be getting beat."
The defeat against Brighton was United's third in a row in the league, stretching back to last season, and their fifth in their last seven top-flight games. New signings Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen started the game, with fellow arrival Tyrell Malacia introduced as a late substitute, but United have been tipped to further invest in their squad.
One of the players linked is Adrien Rabiot, who could be available from Juventus for £15m. However, recent reports have suggested Real Betis midfielder Guido Rodriguez could emerge as an alternative for a similar fee if a move cannot be agreed for the French international.
