Paul Scholes says that he’s “scared” Manchester United will be unable to reverse their current decline and slide into the footballing “wilderness”, as their bitter rivals Liverpool did in the 1990s.

The Red Devils have endured a woeful year and a bit since the exit of Sir Alex Ferguson, with David Moyes having sat in the dugout as the then champions of England slid to a sixth placed finish.

Louis van Gaal has since been drafted in, but even the experienced Dutchman seems to be having trouble following a shock defeat at home to Swansea in his first competitive game, despite talk of a genuine title challenge from the club.

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Liverpool enjoyed massive success through the ‘70s and ‘80s - as United did in the ‘90s and ‘00s – but some poor off-field decisions and a bad run of form saw them slip from the pinnacle of the game as the Theatre of Dreams became the playground for the top side in the country.

And now Scholes is fearful that the same fate could befall his old side if things don’t change quickly:

“I am scared for United. Genuinely scared that they could go into the wilderness in the same way that Liverpool did in the 1990s.” he wrote in his column for The Independent.

“Let us be clear about one thing. I am sick of having to criticise the club to which I gave my life as a footballer.

“But this is a United team that lost seven league games at Old Trafford last season and began on Saturday by losing at home to Swansea.

“United need to arrest their decline. In those years under Sir Alex Ferguson, when trophy followed trophy, this sort of mediocrity was unthinkable. But it is happening.”

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