David Moyes will be sacked as manager of Manchester United as early as today after a calamitous first season in charge at Old Trafford.

The Glazer family, United’s owners, have finally lost patience with the Scot and decided to cut their losses less than ten months after Moyes formally succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson.

Moyes signed a six-year contract with the Barclays Premier League champions last summer, but it is understood that under the terms of the deal he will be entitled to 12 months’ severance pay, worth about £4.5 million.

United’s 2-0 defeat at Everton on Sunday was the latest evidence to the executive that Moyes is the wrong man to lead the club and it is now only a matter of time before the decision is taken.

The Holland coach, Louis van Gaal, Borussia Dortmund’s Jürgen Klopp, Diego Simeone of Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain’s Laurent Blanc will all be discussed as the next potential permanent United manager. Everton’s Roberto Martínez, who has excelled in Moyes’ old job, would be an outside choice.

Moyes has been under scrutiny since last month following the 3-0 loss to Liverpool. The chief concern for the board is how badly the side have played throughout the season, with little sign of improvement. Questions were asked at the highest level about whether he could be trusted to carry out a £150m rebuild in the summer.

The club are intent on reshaping the squad in the close season and the discussions between Woodward and the Glazers centred on whether a new manager should be brought in to drive the process.

Commenting on the speculation surrounding Moyes’ future, the former United defender Gary Neville said: “I think the whole situation at the club right now is repulsive. The club really need to make a statement.”

When replacing Sir Alex Ferguson last summer Moyes signed a six-year contract, with the club determined that stability was the best policy following Ferguson’s 26 years in charge. That policy is now in ruins, with deliberations already beginning over who should succeed Moyes.

Moyes has paid the price for failings at most levels of his role as manager. Beyond a dismal title defence that has taken United from champions by 11 points to a side struggling to qualify for European football next season, are a series of off-field issues.

The prime one is how the 50-year-old has alienated many of the squad he inherited from Ferguson. As the Guardian reported in January Moyes has struggled to convince some senior players of his abilities and there have been numerous disagreements with others.

Over the past few days friction between him and Danny Welbeck came to a head with the striker unhappy enough to consider his future despite being a United supporter. This followed a disagreement between the pair in December. Earlier in the season Moyes claimed he had instructed Welbeck to stay behind for extra training, telling him to follow Wayne Rooney’s example.

Yet Welbeck subsequently questioned Moyes’ claim, saying: “I have been doing that ever since I have been at United. I have been injured this season so maybe the manager has not seen me on the training pitch as much.”

•Pieced together from reports in The Times and The Guardian. Photo shows under-fire Moyes.

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