Will Scholes bust-up be last straw?

Fergie will no doubt examine the commitment of his players over the next few weeks but there should also be some self-examination from a man who is in the final furlong of a distinguished career.

The bookmakers still make United favourites for the Premiership and they appear to have an uncomplicated route into the last eight of the Champions League. It hardly constitutes a crisis.

Still, there have been worrying signs that all is not as it should be at Old Trafford. Ferguson's decision to take over the coaching role after Steve McClaren left for the manager's job at Middlesbrough now appears an error, while the messy departure of Jaap Stam has proved something of a watershed.

Stam gave the defence stability and leadership, and provided a commanding figure in whom goalkeeper Fabien Barthez had complete trust. Replacement Laurent Blanc may have been a great player and has performed creditably in Europe but, at 35, he is on the downslope of his career.

Blanc has not proved as reliable in the helter-skelter of some of the Premiership games, a fact that also appears to have affected the form and nerve of Wes Brown.

The 22-year-old Brown will eventually make a fine centre half but appears out of his depth at the moment. His error-ridden performance at Anfield suggests he needs to be taken out of the firing line. But, with Ronny Johnsen a long-term injury absentee, there are not many alternatives.

United's early successes, built on their defence, were as much to do with Steve Bruce and Peter Schmeichel as Eric Cantona and Mark Hughes.

There was also United's legendary work ethic - Fergie's main strength and the element that set his side apart from most of their rivals. It is now the cause of greatest worry. Despite the skill within the club, none of the United players was what might be called a luxury footballer. They were all prepared to get their hands dirty.

Ryan Giggs, one of the most naturally gifted players in the Premiership, knows he has to work back. David Beckham, one of the finest passers, has never been afraid to appear at full back in his efforts to regain possession.

Yet, Beckham was a strangely muted player at Anfield and only Nicky Butt seemed to have the desire to win the ball, possibly because he makes the starting line-up so infrequently.

United's millionaire players were told that one or two of them have been at the club too long. But if Ferguson is ready to unload some of his squad, which would he chose? We know Dwight Yorke no longer finds favour with the manager and peripheral players like Quinton Fortune and Butt might be surplus to requirements.

But, with the exception of Beckham, who is such a major part of United's commercial success, they are all on long-term contracts.

Perhaps the criticism Ferguson aimed at his players after the defeat at Anfield will be a wake-up call, though the manager also needs to gather his thoughts and intensify his desire for the last push of his career.

In a private moment on United's pre-season tour of the Far East, Ferguson said he wanted to enjoy his last season without too much friction and confrontation.

That seems one wish he is unlikely to be granted.