Manchester United’s players fear that Jose Mourinho’s fierce private and public criticism is damaging confidence and already having a destabilising effect on their season.

The squad have been left shocked not only by Mourinho’s public censure of individual players, including Luke Shaw, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard, but the personal nature of criticism behind closed doors as the United manager faces an early crisis in his reign.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s “hairdryer” treatment became infamous at Old Trafford but Mourinho’s rebukes are believed to carry a nastier edge that has not gone down well in the dressing room.