According to Rene Muelensteen, who worked as Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant at United, the club's identity is being abandoned amid Ratcliffe's many changes. The Dutchman told Manchester Evening News: "It was just a big, big family. It was a massive club that was growing year on, year on, with the greatest manager that England has ever seen at the head of it.
"It never lost its warmth. If I had people over to visit and they watched training, they were all in awe at how wonderful it was, and how welcoming everyone was, and how friendly it all was. That apparently has all gone out the window. You hear that so many people have lost their jobs.
"Sir Alex was there 26 years and had people who had been with him for 20 years, 22 years, 23 years. They were all there for a long time and I imagine now there'll be people who will have to leave their jobs after being with the