Manchester United may have handed David Moyes a six year contract but they could cut their losses before the end of the season according to football writer Ben Lyttleton who joined Off The Ball on the line after the Reds' goalless draw against Arsenal.
"I personally think they need a change of manager because the longer it goes on, I can see it not getting better," said Lyttleton.
"The press conference before this game where he was so on edge, angry and defensive reminded me of Andre Villas Boas in spells when he was at Chelsea and Spurs. It unraveled very quickly after that. As soon as the coach shows signs of having taken things far too personally, it's only a matter of weeks before it unravels very quickly. That's what I saw yesterday. If in the next month, these performances persist and Moyes' performances in the press conferences continue to be as aggressive and narky as they have been, I can see a situation where United say maybe this isn't working out and do something."
Lyttleton also believes Moyes has no idea how to use Juan Mata and thinks that the Spaniard, Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie cannot be shoe-horned into the same team.
"It's early days but Moyes was playing 4-4-2 effectively with Valencia out wide on one wing and Mata out wide on the other. Mata was isolated in his role at Chelsea when he was playing as one of the three behind the central striker. So when you're playing him even wider in a 4-4-2, he's going to see even less of the ball so you're better off having Januzaj there or Ashley Young or Nani.
"Moyes is torn because he's got this player who's hard to leave out but he's wedded to the United system. If you like to put crosses in, then why have you bought Mata? Something has to give. It's a mess unless there's a grand master plan that we don't know about for next season which either involves selling Rooney or Van Persie getting a career-ending injury at the World Cup. At the moment, the United system is reliant on one of Rooney, Van Persie or Mata being injured. If the three of them are fit, it doesn't work."
