Alex Ferguson warned Jose Mourinho in 2015 about losing the dressing room

The Portuguese was sacked from his role as Manchester United manager last week Tuesday. 

Jose Mourinho was sensationally axed on Tuesday morning following Manchester United’s worst start to the season.

He led Manchester United to just seven wins from 17 Premier League matches and 19 points behind leaders Liverpool in sixth. And Sunday's 3-1 loss to their arch rivals proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Mourinho.

But could the former Chelsea manager have avoided his sacking by simply adhering to the advice legendary Sir Alex Ferguson put out there in 2015.

In his book, Leading, Ferguson warned readers of the dangers of losing the dressing room.

"There is a phrase in football about players ‘not playing for the manager’, which I have seen happen a thousand times," Ferguson penned.

"Once that happens, the manager is as good as dead, because he has failed in his major undertaking - which is to motivate the players to follow him."

Sir Alex Ferguson’s words have come back to haunt Jose Mourinho with it being disclosed that just two players in the dressing room were still backing the 55-year-old at the end.

Ed Woodward had a discussion with the players on Monday, a day after the defeat to Liverpool. It's believed that the majority of players were excited to see the back of the Portuguese. 

When appearing as a pundit on BT Sport, Wayne Rooney disclosed that the situation was so bad even the kit guys were unhappy.