VIDEO: Man Utd director Jason Wilcox BOOED by angry fans on arrival at Old Trafford ahead of Brighton FA Cup humbling

The mood at United turned venomous following a chaotic week that began with the sacking of Ruben Amorim and ended with a humiliating 2-1 defeat to Brighton on home soil. With the club languishing in the Premier League and now out of all domestic cup competitions, the patience of the Old Trafford faithful has thoroughly evaporated. That frustration manifested in ugly scenes before a ball had even been kicked on Sunday afternoon.

As captured in footage circulated on social media, Wilcox’s arrival at the directors' entrance was met with immediate hostility. The former Southampton director, who was brought in as a key part of the INEOS revolution, appeared stone-faced as he made his way into the stadium, ignoring the jeers and shouts of "get out of our club" directed at him by a cluster of supporters waiting near the Munich Tunnel.

While Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team were initially welcomed as saviours from the Glazer regime, the disastrous results have rapidly soured relations. Wilcox, alongside chief executive Omar Berrada, has found himself in the firing line, with fans questioning the recruitment strategy and the alleged interference that led to Amorim’s departure.

If the scenes outside the ground were grim, the action on the pitch offered no respite. Interim manager Darren Fletcher, taking charge of his second match following the midweek draw at Burnley, watched on helplessly as his side were dismantled by a slick Brighton outfit. This was the first time since the David Moyes era of 2013-14 that United have fallen at the third round stage, a statistic that underlines the current malaise.

The visitors took the lead after just 12 minutes through Brajan Gruda, who capitalised on a chaotic defensive sequence to silence the Stretford End. United, to their credit, rallied briefly before the break, with Bruno Fernandes forcing a smart save from Jason Steele, but the lack of confidence in the squad was palpable.

The inevitable killer blow was delivered by a ghost from United’s past as Danny Welbeck returned to haunt his boyhood club yet again. The 35-year-old striker doubled the Seagulls' advantage midway through the second half with a trademark finish, his eighth career goal against the Red Devils. Substitute Benjamin Sesko provided a glimmer of hope with a late consolation goal in the 85th minute, but any chance of a grandstand finish was extinguished moments later. Shea Lacey, the highly-rated teenage debutant who had offered a rare spark of creativity, was shown a second yellow card for dissent, reducing United to 10 men and sealing their fate.

The defeat leaves United with effectively nothing to play for in January, a situation that is practically unheard of for a club of its stature. With no European football this season and both domestic cups now gone, the remainder of the campaign is reduced to a grim fight for Premier League survival and respectability. The anger directed at Wilcox is part of a wider insurrection growing within the fanbase. The prominent supporters' group 'The 1958' released a scathing statement earlier this week, branding Sir Jim Ratcliffe an "incompetent clown" and calling for a vote of no confidence in the club's executive leadership. They have announced plans for a mass protest ahead of the home fixture against Fulham in February, warning that the club is being "stripped of its culture, its soul, and its people" by executives learning on the job.

The pressure is now intensifying on the board to appoint a permanent successor to Amorim. While rumours of a romantic return for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Michael Carrick have been floated in the press, Sunday’s result - and the reception afforded to Wilcox - suggests that nostalgia will not be enough to quell the mutiny.