Manchester United's struggles continued recently as the team lost back-to-back games 3-0 before earning a late 1-0 victory at Fulham last weekend.
Scoring the winner in the victory over the Cottagers was Bruno Fernandes, whose stoppage-time goal secured a much-needed three points for the Red Devils.
However, despite delivering the crucial goal in his team's time of need, a former United player has called Fernandes' captainship into question.
Gordon Strachan, who counts a five-year stint as a player at Old Trafford as part of a storied career both on and off the pitch, is unconvinced that Fernandes is the right choice to wear the arm band for the club.
"As a captain, you have to try to be the best player. You have to be the best teammate and you have to be the best in training. You also have to be the best behaved," Strachan told ICE36.
"Bruno Fernandes needs to ask himself if he is doing those things and setting those standards as the captain of Manchester United."
Strachan pointed to Fernandes' on-field demeanour as something that he feels needs improvement if the Portugal international wants to measure up to some of the bigger names who have served as United captain in the past.
"When a captain loses a ball, he needs to give everything to get it back. He needs to work," Strachan said.
"Giving everything isn’t stepping in and deliberately standing on someone’s toes or screaming at referees, it’s putting in the effort.
"You don’t need to be a captain that shouts and screams, it’s all about setting the right example and we’ve seen one or two things while Bruno Fernandes has worn the armband that don’t show a great example.
"You could go back and look at other United captains and ask yourself, ‘Was Roy Keane a great captain?’ Of course, he was. Was it a great example when he (Fernandes) nearly broke (Manchester City striker Erling) Halaand in two? Of course, it wasn’t."
Despite his criticisms, Strachan still believes Fernandes has shown he belongs on the pitch for the Red Devils. And the former Scotland manager admitted that he does not see too many challengers for the arm band among the current United squad.
"Technically, he’s a wonderful player," Strachan said. "Can he win you a game? Yeah, he did that against Fulham and that’s wonderful.
"The problem with Manchester United is, if Bruno doesn’t captain the team, then who does?
"There is no one in that team that is playing regularly that could be a captain because it looks like there aren’t many leaders at Old Trafford."