Manchester United's beleaguered players fear they may not win another game this season.
Morale and confidence is so low among Erik ten Hag's squad that there is a feeling among many of the players that their season could be all but over.
A season of turmoil hit a new low on Monday with United's 4-0 mauling at Crystal Palace, their 13th defeat in the Premier League this season.
That is the most defeats United have suffered in a single season since the Premier League was formed, which has pushed Ten Hag closer to the sack after two years in charge.
United, crippled by injuries and with players forced to play out of position, host Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday, who are hunting down their first league title in 20 years.
After that, United face Newcastle, who have taken 16 points from a possible 21 to overtake Ten Hag's ailing side in the race for a European place.
United go to Brighton – who have won their last four meetings – on the final day of the season, before facing local rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
City beat United in the final last season, en route to matching their 1999 Treble triumph, with Pep Guardiola's side overwhelming favourites to repeat that victory.
One United insider described the mood among United's squad as “miserable”, with many of the players convinced Ten Hag will be on his way this summer after such a dismal season.
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As well as suffering their biggest number of defeats in the Premier League era, United, currently eighth in the table, are on course for their lowest finish since the league was revamped in 1992.
Their lowest finish in the Premier League came in 2014, when David Moyes was sacked with four games left, with United ending that season in seventh place.
But with Newcastle and Chelsea - who have overtaken United in the table - in better form, there is the very real prospect of the Red Devils ending the season in eighth place and missing out on Europe altogether.
United have conceded 55 goals in the league this season, only two fewer than their previous biggest total, in the 2021-22 campaign, which saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced by interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
Thomas Tuchel and Gareth Southgate are the leading contenders to replace Ten Hag if, as expected, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his football operations team decide they must replace him.
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