Liverpool legend Steve Nicol says that Manchester United 'would still be getting beat' even if Pep Guardiola was in charge of the club.
United's new manager Erik ten Hag started his tenure in the Old Trafford dugout with defeat against Brighton on Sunday, despite high expectations for the former Ajax boss.
But Nicol suggests that ten Hag is not to blame for the result and instead insists that 'it doesn't matter how good the coach is', if the squad isn't good enough.
Nicol, who now works as a pundit in America, told ESPN FC: 'You can only fix it by getting in better players. It becomes the old adage about the coach and the players.
'This Manchester United team right now, this squad of players, absolutely confirms that it doesn't matter how good the coach is. If you have players who are not capable of playing at a level where the club should be, it's not going to happen.
'You can talk until you're blue in the face and you can stay from nine in the morning to nine at night on the training field, but if the players are not good enough, if they can't take it in, if they can't deliver it, eventually you have to get players out the door and bring in players who can do it.'
A number of United's players were subject to criticisms after their performance against the Seagulls - with midfield duo Scott McTominay and Fred bearing the brunt of it.
Nicol continued: 'All it's telling you is whoever has been bringing these players through the door, they don't know what they are doing, it's as simple as that.
'You can go and switch Erik ten Hag to Manchester City and bring over Pep Guardiola to Manchester United, and Manchester United would still be getting beat.'
United's struggles have continued year-on-year, as they attained their worst ever Premier League finish under the management of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick last season.
In the four permanent managerial tenures since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure, the club have won just four trophies - compared to the 38 pieces of silverware picked up during the Scot's reign.
