Marouane Fellaini Talks 'Little Crisis' at Manchester United After Watford Loss

Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini has admitted the club are experiencing "a little crisis" after suffering their third successive defeat in the form of a 3-1 loss to Watford on Sunday.

Fellaini played the full 90 minutes as goals from Etienne Capoue, Juan Zuniga and Troy Deeney consigned the Red Devils to an embarrassing loss, and he told French broadcaster SFR of its impact (h/t ESPN FC's Ian Holyman).

The Belgium international said: "It's a little crisis, you could say, because Manchester United cannot lose three games. But we have to lift our heads. It's still early, it's the start of the season still. We haven't even played 10 games yet, but we absolutely have to win."

Hopes were high for new manager Jose Mourinho following his arrival at Old Trafford, but as Match of the Day host Gary Lineker acknowledged, matters again look bleak at United after Sunday's result:

Mourinho beat Leicester City to clinch the FA Community Shield in pre-season, but defeats to Manchester City, Feyenoord and Watford have now turned a promising start to the 2016-17 season on its head.

The Times' Oliver Kay recently pointed out a distinct lack of energy and fitness could be the underlying reason behind United's failure to hit the ground running:

Five games into the new Premier League campaign and United sit seventh in the table, already six points off fierce rivals and standings leaders Manchester City.

Fellaini's admission also goes some way to uncovering what mood the dressing room could be in, with neither Premier League nor UEFA Europa League campaigns getting off to the brightest of starts.

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Mourinho now faces a task in turning the mood of the players around and getting their season back on track, particularly after spending more than £150 million in the summer transfer window.

According to Oliver Holt of the Mail on Sunday, concrete results and surefire points are the last thing the Red Devils are guaranteed right now:

United fans can only hope the manager is up to the task, having left Chelsea last season when the seemingly unimaginable happened and Mourinho led Chelsea on a nightmarish run of results.

The English giants will attempt to prevent their "little crisis" from becoming a larger one, and Wednesday's EFL Cup fixture at Northampton Town is their next opportunity to steer matters back on track.