Sol Campbell delivers blunt warning to Man United

Sol Campbell has warned Louis van Gaal that Manchester United must return to winning ways over the Christmas period or face the sack.

Van Gaal has found himself under increasing pressure in recent weeks after the Red Devils’ Champions League exit at the hands of Wolfsburg was followed up by back to back Premier League defeats by Bournemouth and Norwich City.

Those losses allowed Tottenham Hotspur to leapfrog the Red Devils up into fourth place in the Premier League table.

And former Arsenal and Tottenham defender Campbell has delivered a blunt assessment of United’s current predicament.

Campbell told Sportlobster: “At United, the telling thing about their current situation is the number of ex-players coming out in the media voicing their concerns. The good and the great at Old Trafford have all had their say and that’s scary.

“United look after their own so when legends of the game publicly criticise the team you better believe something’s wrong. How can a club spend £250m and accept the sort of performances we’ve witnessed this season? Scouting and sourcing players has gone wrong along the way.

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“When United lost Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra they joined the ranks of everybody else. They no longer have experience United players in that dressing room. Sir Alex Ferguson was brilliant at keeping the right sort of players in his squad who would help younger players and new signings and give the manager their full backing.

“They’ve lost the vital continuity that won them so many trophies. Christmas will be a very important time for Van Gaal and United. If results and performances don’t improve United will be forced to consider their options.”

United will look to return to winning ways when they travel to Stoke City on Boxing Day, before their crunch clash with Chelsea at Old Trafford two days later on 28 December.

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The Red Devils finished fourth last season under Van Gaal and had been tipped by many to be genuine contenders for this term’s Premier League title.