Manchester United's season has kicked off in the worst possible way with the Old Trafford giants sitting rock bottom of the Premier League.

Erik ten Hag's side followed their opening-day loss to Brighton with a thorough humbling at the hands of Brentford as they shipped four goals to the London side.

With a wounded Liverpool, also looking for their first win of the season, booked in as their next assignment, there is a very real chance that United could still be rooted to the bottom of the table this time next week.

Ten Hag would have been under no allusions as to the size of the mountain he had to climb when he first took on the role, but the car-crash start to the campaign has brought that task into sharp focus.

So where do the problems lie at United? The ownership, the manager, or among the squad itself?

Speaking in a recent interview with defensive legend Rio Ferdinand, Nani perfectly summed up the issues, slating the squad as he compared the current crop to those he played with during his time at Old Trafford.

“Rio, it is obvious when you look,” he said after being asked about the differences between Erik ten Hag's side and the team they both played in under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Nani chats with Sir Alex ferguson

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 21: Sir Alex Ferguson the manager of Manchester United talks with Nani during a press conference ahead of the UEFA Champions League Group C match against Benfica held at Old Trafford on November 21, 2011 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

“I don’t like to talk too much sometimes, and I don’t talk about players. But you can see that there is no hunger.

"There is no hunger, and no attitude; no desire to win in the club. You have talent, and a lot of talented players. But they don’t like to get tired to win.

“I liked to sweat to win, they do not. They make one run, and then if they have to make one challenge to get the ball. You know what we used to do. Run back to defend and attack.

"But I still played and scored even when I was tired. I was never afraid to attack one vs. one, the defender was afraid when I had the ball. That’s the big difference."

Bang on the money.

There seems to be a stunning lack of passion among United's current gaggle of stars.

Confidence is at an all time low and, unless they can get something out of the clash with Liverpool, those levels are only set to drop.

Can Ten Hag turn it around, or is his head already on the proverbial chopping block?