There is no more accurate gauge of disenchantment than the speed with which Old Trafford emptied on Tuesday night. Normally the Manchester United faithful would have stayed behind to a man to applaud the players around the pitch in what has become a ritual after the last home match of the season. There was no inclination to do so for a team who had lost for the second time in the league this season to a Chelsea side 20 points ahead of them in the Premiership table.

No desire to linger to acclaim the likes of Rio Ferdinand, whose new contract offer remains unsigned and whose reputation with the fans plunges by the week. No reason to stay to thank a team who, by captain Roy Keane's own admission, have not always given the impression this season that they have been giving 100 per cent for the United cause.

Who could blame the supporters for heading for the pub early? There can be no argument with Chelsea's superiority this season. They have been wonderfully consistent, amassed a record number of Premiership points, recorded the most wins in Premiership history, the most clean sheets and almost certainly conceded the fewest goals.

Alex Ferguson has acclaimed them and the United boss has been magnanimous in defeat. And, who knows, United may yet win the FA Cup this season when they meet Arsenal in 10 days' time.

But, even if they do, that cannot mask the task which lies ahead for Ferguson. United is a club ridden with uncertainty off the field and problems on it. Ferguson cannot do much about the disruptive stalking of the club by American businessman Malcolm Glazer who must table a formal bid by next Tuesday if he wants to pursue his aim to take over United. But so much of what is wrong on the pitch is of Ferguson's own making.

It starts with his reluctance or inability over the past five years to replace the goalkeeping talents of Peter Schmeichel. Roy Carroll and Tim Howard are not in the same class and the difference between them and Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini at Chelsea is perhaps the single most glaring difference between the quality of the two clubs.

United could perhaps get away with that if the defence was more reliable but, for all Ferdinand's demands for a £120,000-a-week pay packet he has not provided the consistent performances John Terry has supplied for Chelsea.

The long injury absences of Ruud van Nistelrooy have not helped United's cause and while Wayne Rooney has produced several spectacular performances justifying his £27 million price tag, the jury is out on Ferguson's insistence on playing him out wide on the left.

Meanwhile, Ryan Giggs has still to sign a new contract, did not feature in United's squad on Tuesday and no longer supplies the penetration he once did. All of that, however, pales into insignificance when compared with the question of Roy Keane.

For the past decade Keane has been the embodiment of Ferguson on the field. He is United's standard bearer. But Keane is on his last legs. No longer does he produce surging runs into the opposition penalty area. No longer does he inspire his team-mates, to give that extra ounce of sweat.

True, he is still worth his place for his organisation and positional sense for what quite probably will be one last season, but where is the replacement?

Recent past midfield signings such as Kleberson and Eric Djemba Djemba do not give reason for optimism. Ferguson needs a presence such as Chelsea's Frank Lampard or Liverpool's Steven Gerrard.

The chances of that are nil. Finding someone of similar calibre is Ferguson's biggest challenge.

Mourinho has warned rivals he will not rest on his laurels after inspiring his champions' devastating statement of intent at Old Trafford. Mourinho insists his record-breaking side are still yet to achieve true greatness. Reported multi-million pound interest in Parma's Alberto Gilardino and Mickael Essien of Lyon indicate the Chelsea chief's desire to seal his side's place in the history books.

Mourinho admitted: "Next season if we want to be champions again we are going to have to be as good as we were this season. Next season there will still be Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and perhaps another team challenging us. I don't think we have to win next year to become a great side. But if we don't win it once or twice more during my five-year contract then you could say we are not great."

Mourinho added: "I don't look at football in terms of managers. Porto and Chelsea got results against Manchester United, not Mourinho against Sir Alex. Football is about teams and in the last two seasons my teams did well against United, but in the future this could change. We beat Liverpool four times but lost against them in the fifth game which was most important. So maybe next season we cannot beat United."

Meanwhile, French club Lyon claimed yesterday Mourinho's team-strengthening exercise had already started with an unsuccessful bid for the French champions' star midfielder Essien. Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas confirmed the bid to French newspaper L'Equipe but added: "Only one player will go, I repeat it. Chelsea came up with an offer for Essien and left with nothing."

Chelsea are refusing to comment on reports they have been threatened with legal action over their alleged refusal to send a Nigerian player back to Norway. Teenager Emmanuel Sarki is training with Mourinho's men despite still being contracted to Norwegian club Lyn Oslo. And the Norwegians insist Chelsea have ignored repeated requests for Sarki to be sent back to them.