Former Manchester City and Arsenal full-back Bacary Sagna says that some Manchester United players are well off their best.
Man Utd are well down in eighth position in the Premier League and have not brought in any players in the January transfer window.
New co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has been praised by manager Erik ten Hag, but no serious changes to the playing squad appear imminent, so there is a real battle to reach the top four at the end of the season.
Speaking to Lord Ping, Sagna put the blame on many of the players underwhelming compared to their abilities.
He said: “Manchester United are having a poor season by their standards. They have received a lot of criticism this season, which is fair then you look at the performances.
“Some of the players haven’t been playing at the level we know they are capable of. When you look at some of the players on the pitch and the team – there are a lot of big names there – but they haven’t been delivering.
“Manchester United are one of the biggest clubs in the world. People will always compare the players in this team to the best players that have worn the United shirt. They will always compare the manager to Sir Alex Ferguson. That is human nature, but that is also the pressure of playing or managing a club like Manchester United.
“That era has gone. This is a new period, and I don’t think that it is fair to compare these players to those legends from Manchester United’s past. It is the same for Chelsea. It is the same for Arsenal. These clubs had such big players – they had legendary players that won a lot of trophies. These players will always be in the hearts of the fans, but this is a different time and period.
“People need to adapt to the new team. You can’t compare this Manchester United team to any of the teams that shone so brightly under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson. It’s not easy for the players to keep moving forward and to deal with the comparisons, but that is what happens when you play for a big club.”