There were ironic cheers from the home fans as the Dutchman's side took a woeful 69 minutes to register a shot on target against League One minnow Sheffield United.
That it took a 93rd minute penalty said much about the display. Manchester United so very nearly failed again at Old Trafford on Saturday, and the 1-0 victory over Sheffield United will paper over only so many of the widening gaps on display.
“The minute that we don’t work harder than the other team, we’ll not be Manchester United,” Sir Alex Ferguson used to tell his players. Sheffield United worked far harder than the 20-time champion here, but held out so well largely because the club was simply not asked enough questions.