Manchester United’s crisis descended into farce on Wednesday and staff are increasingly fearful about how much more damage Jose Mourinho will inflict as he continues to wage war on his squad.

Mourinho goes into Saturday’s tie against Newcastle United at Old Trafford without a home win in the past four matches and on the back of a four-game winless streak, ever worsening relations with his players and concerns about the impact of his divisive behaviour.

It is 28 years since United last went five games without a win at Old Trafford and, after another extraordinary 24 hours at the club in the wake of Tuesday’s turgid 0-0 draw against Valencia in the Champions League, it emerged that:

Mourinho confronted his players at the Lowry hotel on Monday night when a meeting that was due to last 20 minutes ended up going on more than twice as long as he picked over Saturday’s spineless 3-1 defeat at West Ham.