Rio Ferdinand says it’s time for Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to step aside.

Manchester United are currently enduring a difficult run of form after losing the Manchester derby 2-0 this past weekend at home to Man City. With heightened expectation, following the acquisitions of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, United are floundering in the league and performances have been poor.

With Solskjaer coming under fierce criticism from supporters and pundits alike, there doesn’t seem to be any change at Old Trafford coming just yet. Fans within the stadium booed the performance at the end of both halves on Saturday.

Now, Rio Ferdinand – who played with the Norwegian during his spell in Manchester – says that the time might have come for Solskjaer to resign from the club.

On the latest episode of his ‘Vibe With Five’ podcast, Ferdinand said: “I look at our team every week and wonder what we are going to do. I don’t see any philosophy or an identity in the United way of playing, whatever that should be from the management. I sit here confused looking at the team.

“When you look at it like that with the transfer window we had, we were all sitting here excited.

“I go back to my point. Ole was brought in, I think, with a remit to get us back to a point, a moment where you do think he’s brought some foundation back. At the beginning of this season, we were sat there saying; ‘Yes, that’s it’.

“Deep down, I was always a bit sceptical he could take us on and be champions. I wasn’t sure or wasn’t convinced, but I hoped that he would be able to do it. But the showing I’ve seen this season, I just feel that, maybe, now might be the time for that baton to be handed over to somebody else who can take us on.

“I think Ole would leave now with his head held high. From when he came in, to where he got us, at the beginning of this season, has been positive. I’ve always said the trajectory has been like this [upwards]. Slow, not a big spike like [Thomas] Tuchel has done for Chelsea, but over his tenure, there has been a gradual increase.

“Under previous management eras that we had, he was brought in to fix that and bring us to a place where you get the squad intact, you get the players in to put us at a point where we can challenge for the league.”