Man United captain Bruno Fernandes has told Erik ten Hag something he doesn't want to hear

The noises coming out of the current Manchester United dressing room have a worryingly familiar air to them.

"They looked like they wanted it more than us and that can't be right," said Christian Eriksen after last month's 1-1 Europa League draw with FC Twente. Then fellow esteemed colleague Jonny Evans admitted the talk around Erik ten Hag's future is impacting the mindset of the squad.

"It does affect the players," he explained after the goalless draw with Aston Villa. "It's on our minds too. That was the important thing, to show the spirit [we have] in the team."

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The angst has now been cranked up a notch by a telling, not overly unexpected, concession from captain Bruno Fernandes. "It's not a positive moment," he said of United's mood while away on Portugal duty.

"We're not winning games and the national team space is completely different." Fernandes - who was able to net for Portugal against Scotland last month - has not enjoyed his most fruitful start to the season and is yet to score from 11 outings in United's famous red shirt.

"It's about improving as soon as I get [back] there," Fernandes admitted, referencing his return to United after the international break. "Making the goals appear again because I'm a midfielder that scores a lot of goals and has over the years always shown a very high level of goals.

"I have to live up to those expectations and to my standards. What I've been doing is not at all what I want for this season, because I haven't scored at the club yet. I hope that once I get there, I can score and help my club get back to winning ways and be at a good level."

The future of his manager with United remains ambiguous, following the conclusion of a pre-scheduled board meeting between senior boardroom figures in London on Tuesday. The Manchester Evening News understands that Ten Hag himself expects to still be in his job next week.

Leaks of dressing room dissatisfaction have been common occurrences over the last decade with Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ralf Rangnick and even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all having to contend with such events with Ten Hag no exception in having to deal with that, either.

Just over a year ago, several players were said to be becoming disillusioned with his tactics and in March, some were concerned with running drills in training amid a spate of persistent injuries. But things have, seemingly, now got a bit more blatant, as proven by three aforementioned players.

The recent admissions of Eriksen, Evans and now Fernandes in front of TV cameras and broadcaster microphones does not bode too well. It is admirable honesty from all three, but does not offer the job reference Ten Hag needs at such a challenging time.

Players, media-trained and, consequently, often tight-lipped, do not make such confessions unless more than a handful of teammates feel the same way or the situation is undeniably obvious. In normal circumstances, a draw away at Porto with 10-men and a lockout at Villa Park are good results.

But Fernandes' admission this week shows where United really are in context; just three wins from 10 games in all competitions, just two in the Premier League, a table rank of 14th and scoreless in three league outings.

Fortunately for Ten Hag, the schedule looks a lot kinder - on paper at least - on the other side of this international break. Fenerbahce away in Europe and Chelsea at home in early November is as tough as it gets for that sequence.

Brentford, West Ham, Leicester City (twice) and PAOK in the Europa League denotes, perhaps, a more appetising run until the next international break in November.

The fresh comments from the United captain do not help Ten Hag in his case for revival, but the fixture list does. Should yet further poor results follow, however, then supporters could well see the confessions from the United dressing room become even more uncensored moving forward.