As a disappointing start to the season shows no signs of abating for Manchester United, it has been reported that irrespective of this weekend's result against Newcastle United, the board will have Jose Mourinho sacked by Monday morning.
Initially reported by the Mirror, it was claimed; "Senior United sources [have said Mourinho] has reached the point of no return."
Although it cannot be confirmed whether or not the reports are true, the legitimacy of the claim was strengthened somewhat when Gary Neville was asked about its contents on Sky Sports.
Suggesting that he does not necessarily want Jose Mourinho sacked, Neville spoke of his anger with the club's hierarchy and how a disappointing trend is now emerging.
To be honest with you, I'm furious.
I'm furious going back three, four years ago when David Moyes was sacked and it broke a day before. I think of Louis van Gaal being sacked on the evening of a cup final, and finding out from other people.
I think about how the club is being operated ... If this is true, and Jose Mourinho is going to walk out at Old Trafford tomorrow as a dead-man walking, those fans will absolutely turn toward that board room. It's unacceptable.
I have to say that Jose Mourinho will get the biggest support he's ever had in his life tomorrow I think in that ground, and I'll be there to give it to him.
If this is true ... it's an absolute disgrace. Where are the values and the principles of Manchester United? That the journalists find out, and it isn't announced at the right time.
Criticising the internal structures of the club, and stressing that any manager would struggle working within it, Neville went on to further criticise those at the top of the hierarchy.
Enough is enough, I love that football club, and something has got to change, and it's not the manager.
Journalists don't break stories of this nature unless they're absolutely certain, and I hope it's not true, but if it is true I think it's an absolute disgrace.
Suggesting that 'the tail is wagging the dog' at the football club, with the dressing room determining the wider agenda within the club, Neville believes this has been coming for a number of weeks.
Undermining Jose on the eve of the season, explaining to journalists why he couldn't sign those centre-backs ... who is qualified in that football club to be able to tell Jose Mourinho [who to sign]?
There's only two people I can think of and they wouldn't have been consulted; Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Alex Ferguson.
Maybe I'm reacting a little bit emotionally, but I don't particularly care anymore to be honest in respect of what I say. You can say it's unprofessional, but I have to speak as a fan and say what I feel.
At this moment in time, there is something rotten to the core in the decisions that have been made over the last four or five years.
Criticising the people in charge of making the decision regarding Mourinho as being 'nowhere near good enough' to deal with such issues, Neville surmised; "They're playing Football Manager with the biggest club in the world."
In this afternoon's pre-match press conference, Mourinho appeared rather subdued in his dealings with the media, and, according to Gary Neville, looked "fed up."
With games coming thick and fast, and Mourinho appearing to be struggling with personal relationships with his players within the club, many will argue the club is in need of a fresh face.
