Jose Mourinho wants to axe a minimum of eight players over the next two transfer windows as the constant transition in Manchester United’s squad shows no signs of slowing.

United suffered their fifth defeat in 17 matches under Mourinho last night when they were beaten 2-1 by Fenerbahce in Istanbul to leave the club with an uphill battle to qualify for the Europa League knockout stages.

Mourinho – who has now lost 18 of his past 42 matches as a manager dating back to his time at Chelsea - reacted to his team’s latest set-back by accusing his players of not being “mentally prepared”, “not focused”, “not concentrated” and of treating the game like a pre-season friendly.

United – who are seven points adrift of fourth place in the Premier League - face Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday having won just one of their past seven league games. They have failed to score in their past three league fixtures.