Jose Mourinho close to 'point of no return' at Manchester United ahead of meeting with board

Exclusive: United host Newcastle on Saturday, having not won a single game in three weeks, since the 2-1 away to Watford

Jose Mourinho is due to meet with the Manchester United board in the next week, in a meeting to discuss the many problems encountered this season and the bad atmosphere around the team.

While high-level United sources have dismissed reports he is due to be sacked before Monday and state he is under no “immediate” threat, The Independent has been told many executives now feel the situation is “getting to the point of no return”.

Mourinho will be asked about an increasingly fractious relationship between himself and the squad, that has given rise to a number of problems this season, most relevantly a series of bad results and bad performances.

The Portuguese has regularly criticised the attitude of his players in recent weeks and, earlier this week, warned his squad they were in danger of losing their “dignity”.

“All of my life, I have followed certain golden rules,” he wrote in his programme notes for Tuesday’s goalless draw with Valencia.

“One of them is that a team can lose matches - that is just part of football - but the team must never, ever lose its dignity.

“That leads me to another pair of golden rules that must be followed: the team is always more important than the individual, and the crest on the chest is more important than the name on the back of the shirt.

United host Newcastle on Saturday, having not won a single game in three weeks, since the 2-1 away to Watford.