Kenny Cunningham has described Manchester United's latest performance as "gut-wrenching" and feels the club are "in a desperate place" under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
United went down to a 2-0 loss to rivals Manchester City on Saturday afternoon at Old Trafford – just a fortnight after a five-goal loss to Liverpool.
While it was just two goals shipped last week, United were left chasing the ball for second half as Pep Guardiola’s outfit toyed with the home side.
Solskjaer’s men are nine points behind leaders Chelsea but the two defeats were particularly painful due to just how outclassed United were.
Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, Cunningham felt it was tough viewing to watch a club of the calibre of Manchester United perform to such a poor level.
He said: "It must have been gut-wrenching for Manchester United supporters. It was bad enough to have that borderline humiliating defeat to Liverpool a couple of weeks ago. I thought this was worse.
"The scoreline didn't suggest it but it was pretty miserable stuff.
"In the first half it was very difficult to work out what Manchester United were trying to. I was really scratching my head in terms of a tactical set-up.
"Yes, they played with a back three with wing-backs with a midfield three and a front two. But I just couldn't believe how passive they were out of possession. It didn't look like they had any idea how to spring out of that low defensive block and actually turn over the ball from Manchester City.
"They were drifting around the pitch with no real comprehension of how they were going to win the ball back. When you see something like that, you really have to look at the manager and coaching staff on how they are setting up the team.
"That strikes me as if the team went onto the pitch with no game plan or understanding of what they were going to do in or out of possession of the football.
"You can't do that against a team of Manchester City's quality. They'll just open you up. City recognised that straight away and knew where the overloads were in the wide positions. Manchester United were all over the place and went down with a whimper. It was tough to watch actually to be honest with you."
Five Premier League managers have lost their jobs so far this season and Solskjaer is the current favourite to next have the same fate.
The Red Devils have been unable to successfully to replace legendary boss Alex Ferguson with David Moyes, Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal failing to deliver a Premier League title.
The former Ireland international is struggling to see which way United can turn in their current predicament under the Norwegian.
Cunningham explained: "I think the manager is under massive pressure which goes without saying but I don't think there is an obvious solution out there in terms of who comes in.
"They were an obvious replacement out there in Antonio Conte but I think Daniel Levy (Tottenham Hotspur chairman) sensed that he wouldn't be available for much longer.
"He grabbed him early and maybe the Manchester United hierarchy will think they should have acted a little earlier. Time will tell. They're in a pretty desperate place at the moment."
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