The doom and gloom was etched onto the faces of the few Manchester United players who reported back to training early this week. For them, their surprise week off provided some much needed respite, but now the hard work begins again.
And for United, that is the only way they will be able to turn around their dismal run of form. Confidence is low, knives are being planted in backs, and the atmosphere is threatening to become eerily similar to the final days of Jose Mourinho's reign.
While there is no widespread dressing room rebellion against manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a club legend so mercilessly out of his depth this season, there is a feeling that he has taken them as far as he can.