Romelu Lukaku is not to blame for Manchester United's form being patchier than a dalmatian's spots alone.

But as Old Trafford legend Paul Ince branded his old club “completely scared” to play, and as disoriented as “deer in headlights,” Lukaku's struggle has become a focal point for United's nightmare start.

Ince warned the Theatre of Dreams had lost its aura as a fortress, claiming Juventus “walked all over United” in midweek, because of manager Jose Mourinho's failure to make £400million worth of signings play like the sum of its parts.

Lukaku - four goals in 13 appearances this season – has gone eight games without scoring, and Ince says the £75m striker simply isn't capable of becoming the No.9 Mourinho wants.

Didier Drogba and Diego Costa fired Mourinho to three Premier League titles at Chelsea, but Lukaku didn't even manage a single shot in the Champions League defeat by the Old Lady on Tuesday night.

(Image: Getty Images)

Ince warned: “It looked like Romelu Lukaku was trying to do something against Juventus. The only issue is, no matter how hard he tried, he just wasn't capable. When you are at United, you must perform at seven or eight out of 10 every week. I'm not sure he has the ability to do that.

“He should be the focal point of the team. He's 25 years old now, he's not going to change. The Lukaku you have now is the Lukaku you're always going to have. That's what you've got to work with.

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“It's obvious that he needs help. There's no doubt he can score goals – you can see it from his record. But playing for United is about more than that. He constantly loses the ball, throughout every game.

“As an ex-player, if my control and retention of the ball wasn't great, I'd be out there every single afternoon, getting it right. It makes you wonder what he's working on in training, because we've never seen an improvement on it.

(Image: John Peters)

“You can't always blame the manager – sometimes you need to take responsibility for your own performances.”

Mirror Sport revealed last week that current United players are angry at the stream of criticism from the club's old boys, notably the Class of 92 including Paul Scholes and Gary Neville.

But Ince won't be gagged, and he gave Mourinho both barrels for becoming the biggest-spending manager in United's history – but failing dismally to fit the jigsaw pieces together coherently.

The 'Guvnor' blasted: “He bought Fred, who can't get a game, and the same goes for Alexis Sanchez. He's disappeared – his career has gone backwards. I can see why there has been criticisms of the board. But in their defence, you can't go and spend £50m on Fred just to stick him on the bench. You can't keep getting away with it and not expect to be questioned.

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“Mourinho is too focused on what the opposition are doing. Focus on your own team instead. Your players look completely scared, they have no confidence at all.

“The sad fact is United have no presence any more. Liverpool do, Man City clearly do, even Chelsea in such a short time [under a new manager] are showing what they are made of.

“Why, after three years, are United still trying to find a winning formula under Mourinho? With Jurgen Klopp, you know the direction his team is going in. You can see what they have been working on in training all week – with United, they look like they don't have a clue. The players don't know what they are doing. It's more a case of go out, hope we get a result, see what happens.

“I'm not disputing they have some incredible talent, but from what I'm seeing they don't know how to play together. When you watch United, they are like deer in headlights.”

(Image: Man Utd via Getty Images)

United's 1-0 defeat by Juventus left them facing an uphill task to reach the Champions League knockout stages.

Ince claims their performance merely extended a pattern of impoverished displays under Mourinho, adding to Paddy Power News: “From the off, you could tell Juventus weren't in any way frightened of going to Old Trafford. Facing United didn't intimidate them one bit, and that's a serious problem.

“The stadium is no longer a fortress. They allowed the Italian side to walk all over them.

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“Unfortunately, it doesn't surprise me. Even when you look at the Newcastle and Chelsea games, they were woeful for 45 minutes. It's a lie to say they have been playing well – they have been lucky to get the results they have.”

Paul Ince was speaking exclusively to Paddy Power News. To read more, visit news.paddypower.com