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A meeting between Ruben Amorim and Manchester United director of football Jason Wilcox ultimately led to the head coach's sacking.
Amorim was dismissed on Monday morning, ending a turbulent 14-month tenure that saw the Portuguese coach fail to bring the revival the club desperately sought.
Sky Sports report that United’s board ultimately felt they had "no choice" but to make a change after Amorim on Sunday exposed deep fractures between the head coach and the club’s hierarchy.
It has now been revealed that tensions were already heightened heading into the weekend. Amorim and Wilcox met on Friday, as planned by the head coach, to discuss the team's tactical approach in detail following a disappointing 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-table Wolves.
The game had seen United revert back to a three-man defence against a team which had just two points to their name at the halfway point of the season.
Sky Sports claim that Amorim's response at that meeting was "very negative and emotional", which left some at United “shocked”, adding that Amorim's "emotional and inconsistent behaviour was a key part of the decision to sack him".
It is suggested that the club believe Amorim no longer provided the stability and structure needed to guide the project after repeatedly refusing to adapt and evolve his tactical approach from his much-maligned 3-4-3 system.
Darren Fletcher has been put in caretaker charge, with the expectation that an interim manager will take charge of the club for the remainder of the season.
Enzo Maresca is the early favourite with bookmakers.
