Manchester United's television channel MUTV took a programme named 'The Debate' off air after the club's latest on-pitch setback.
Four first half goals from Brentford ensured Erik ten Hag's poor start got even worse on Saturday evening. Josh Dasilva, Mathias Jensen, Ben Mee and Bryan Mbeumo were all on the scoresheet, with United unable to find a response.
The result followed a 2-1 home defeat against Brighton in Ten Hag's first league game in charge, and left United rock bottom of the table. However, the usual debrief on MUTV on Monday night didn't air in its usual slot.
'The Debate' usually airs on a Monday, and involves former Man Utd players discussing the club's fortunes. The most recent episode listed on United's website at the time of writing is a preview of the Brentford game.
According to The Times, the show - usually on air at 6pm - was pulled on Sunday. The paper notes that MUTV have cited staff shortages for the decision.
United's women's team are currently embarking on their own pre-season, and a number of staff members are reportedly in France to focus on their preparations. The women are due to face Paris Saint-Germain in Toulouse on Tuesday, and begin their WSL season in September against Tottenham.
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"We have to question their desire, and we will do it in the coming hours," Ten Hag said after the defeat in west London. "But we are together, and we are clearly in a really difficult situation, but we stick together and we have to find resources and solutions.
"They follow my instructions, but they make bad decisions. This is football, it is a game of mistakes and you get punished."
There is also a concern things could get worse before they get better. Last season's top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo has been linked with a move away, and former Man Utd captain Gary Neville admitted he was concerned about how far the team could fall after last season's sixth place finish.
"The problem they have now is if they lose {Ronaldo], there’s nothing left in terms of the goal scoring part of the pitch and I genuinely think if they don’t bring players in or if they bring in poor players in and he leaves, I genuinely think they can finish in the bottom half of the table," Neville said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football when assessing the performance at Brentford. "That’s a bottom half of the table team."
