Former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness questioned Manchester United's decision to appoint Ralf Rangnick as interim manager following Saturday evening's 4-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.
United suffered their fifth successive Premier League away defeat in dramatic fashion, conceding three times in the opening 15 minutes of the second-half. Marc Cucurella, Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard all got their names on the scoresheet after Moises Caicedo had handed the home side a first-half lead.
United were second-best from the first minute on the south coast and did not once look like seriously threatening Robert Sanchez in the Brighton goal. They were lifeless in the first half and shambolic in the second.
READ MORE: Manchester United cannot ignore away fans' chants after latest horror show at Brighton
Defeat officially spelt the end of United's already faint Champions League hopes for next season, meaning the highest they can now realistically finish with one game left is sixth. Rangnick's arrival in November on a deal until the end of the season has failed to have the desired impact and he has now won just 11 of his 28 games in charge in all competitions.
But whilst most of the problems United are continuing to experience are as a result of mistakes made beyond Rangnick's control, the decision to appoint him as interim manager has been seriously questioned in recent months. Souness was the latest to share his verdict, suggesting it was a huge mistake to appoint him.
"Man United have had ten years, since Fergie [Sir Alex Ferguson] packed it in, of ridiculously poor football decisions," Souness told Sky Sports. "I have never met the guy [Rangnick].
"Maybe I won't meet him, maybe I will meet him, to speak football with him. But what geniuses at Man United sat down and thought 'we are going to get rid of Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] and there is a guy who is an advisor and a consultant at Lokomotiv Moscow. I've been told he's the man and let's check his CV'.
"There is nothing on his CV that warrants him getting the job at Man United. If you go back to the players that they have signed, they players they have kept and renewed their contracts, to this latest guy that has come in, you just do not know where they are getting their football decisions from.
"But they have consistently got them wrong for ten years."
Due to his status as interim manager, it has been questioned whether or not United's players have been prepared to listen to Rangnick's advice. For Souness, the squad gave up some time ago.
He added: "They've got good players, haven't got any great players but good players. They're a county mile away from the two teams they need to catch, which are Manchester City and Liverpool.
"I think looking at Man United and the man in charge, they don't [the players] listen to him. When I see a manager speaking, I always imagine me back in the dressing room at 22, 23, listening to him speak, he's not going to get me at it.
"Fergie would get me at it, he wouldn't. I think those Manchester United players stopped listening a long, long time ago."
Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.
