After 11 games, Manchester United find themselves 10 points off the top four with just three wins in the Premier League this season.

Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still splits opinion, with a growing number of fans now becoming sympathetic to his plight, and understanding that maybe its other factors within the club that have contributed to the Red Devils’ decline.

Ironically, United have done best in their toughest games - opening the season with a 4-0 win over Chelsea and also beating high-flying Leicester 1-0, as well as draws against old rivals Arsenal and Liverpool.

But amongst those positives have been defeats to Crystal Palace at home, and on the road at West Ham, Newcastle and Bournemouth.

They have enjoyed a steady, if unspectacular, start in the Europa League with seven points from a possible nine, while they progressed to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup with a win at Chelsea.

The performances of Solskjaer’s three summer recruits - Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire - have at least proved a positive for those buying Man United tickets, showing the potential of Solskjaer as a squad builder, as they desperately seek success in the transfer market after years of round pegs for square holes.

For too long United have gotten desperate in the transfer market, splashing out money for the sake of it without considering how players will fit in to a system. The likes of Marouane Fellaini, Juan Mata and Angel Di Maria haven’t had the intended impact, and it has left a somewhat unbalanced United squad.

That’s perhaps best reflected up front, where even the prolific Romelu Lukaku couldn’t provide the answer and a huge amount of money was squandered on Alexis Sanchez, while both Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial continue to flirt between wide and central positions without either becoming prolific goalscorers.

It’s never too late for United, but they are so far behind derby rivals Manchester City and Liverpool that it’s going to require patience and several transfer windows to get anywhere close to bridging that gap.

Re-instilling the proud culture of the club and signing players who want to play for the shirt, rather than for the pay cheque, is important - as is making sure signings are made for the right reasons.

The challenge is whether the fans will have the patience not to turn against Solskjaer and the club in the meantime, with Ed Woodward a regular source of hate amongst the club’s online fanbase.

Clearly finishing mid-table is not what United fans expect, and they’ll be desperate that this isn’t signalling the start of a similar decline to what Liverpool suffered in the 1990s after their era of domination.

Recruiting in the January transfer window is traditionally tough, with the issue of clubs in European competition not wanting to relinquish players. Winning the Europa League sounds unlikely, but could represent a more realistic chance of Champions League qualification than league placings, as United managed a couple of years ago.

A centre forward must be a priority, with United having managed just 13 goals in 11 leagues and a miserly two in three Europa League games so far. Scott McTominay’s rise to prominence has been timely, especially in the absence of the injured Paul Pogba, whose future still remains unclear. The France World Cup winner should be the leading light in this United team, but if anything, he is more symbolic of the issues than showing any signs of being a saviour.

Solskjaer needs time and needs to be allowed to refresh the squad, getting rid of the so-called dead wood, and bringing in the right kind of players to build a solid unit and a culture that will propel United back up the table.