One suspects that Ed Woodward felt significantly more apprehensive before sacking the volatile Louis van Gaal this morning than he did David Moyes two years ago.
However, Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman plucked up the courage to tell the veteran Dutch coach that retirement was coming a year earlier than planned.
Van Gaal’s Dutch coaching staff - assistant Albert Stuivenberg, goalkeeper coach Frans Hoek and performance analyst Max Reckers - have also been dismissed while Ryan Giggs’ position remains uncertain for the time being.
According to The Sun’s Neil Custis - the journalist famously labelled a ‘fat man’ by Van Gaal back in January, in one of the season’s more bizarre moments - Van Gaal and his staff have been left “furious” following their dismissal
They reportedly felt they would still be in charge of the Red Devils next season and were subsequently planning for it, only to be told they wouldn’t be allowed to see out the final year of their three-year contracts.