The axe finally fell on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s time in the Manchester United dugout as manager following a 4-1 defeat in the hands of Watford.

Solskjaer was sacked on Sunday after a run of one win in seven league games left Manchester United languishing 12 points off the top of the table and facing a battle just to make it into the top four; the league title challenge almost an impossible dream.

Manchester United’s top management had kept faith with Solskjaer despite humiliating home defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City in the past month.

But the manner of another poor show at Vicarage Road broke even their resolve as Solskjaer became the fourth United boss to be sacked in the eight years since Alex Ferguson retired.

United remain well in the fight for a place in next season’s Champions League as other results left them still just six points adrift of the top four.

However, the club’s hierarchy are facing accusations of already giving up on the season after they announced the plan to hire an interim boss for the rest of the campaign, in the hope of having a better pool of candidates to choose from as Solskjaer’s successor in six months’ time.