It is time for Manchester United to restore Sir Alex Ferguson's ruthless rule

In an interview with The Times this week, Sergio Reguilon revealed he cried in the dressing room after Manchester United were thumped 3-0 by Newcastle in the League Cup.

Reguilon seems personable (he never did any media in Manchester) and he quickly endeared himself to the United matchgoers with his intent on debut against Brighton. But tears in defeat are not United material.

It was reported at the time and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed in his recent roundtable that some players were in tears at the interval of his final stand at Watford. In the Elton John Stand, Solskjaer was not still standing at full-time.

Solskjaer held back the tears during his exit interview the next day. That was understandable. He served United for 11 years as a player, two-and-a-half years as reserves coach and his managerial tenure was just shy of three years. His legendary status was assured long before he occupied the home dugout at Old Trafford in December 2018.

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But back to the waterworks. As hasty as it may have been of United to have exercised the break clause in Reguilon's season-long loan, any regret should be eased by his reaction to defeat.

It is possibly a generational issue. Solskjaer lamented the Gen Z crowd and one empathises. Most workplaces encounter issues with meeker mentalities and Erik ten Hag would have been well within his rights to have given Reguilon a dressing down in the dressing room for crying.

Goodness knows what state Reguilon was in after his seventh and last start for United, another 3-0 home humbling by Bournemouth. It is almost worth countenancing Victor Lindelof at