David Moyes will be sacked as Manchester United manager, according to reports – and could even be gone by the time Norwich City visit Old Trafford on Saturday.

A series of reports surfaced yesterday afternoon that the Scot's ill-fated reign as Red Devils boss would shortly be brought to an end.

Press Association said it understood that Moyes is, as things stand, still United manager, but the reports appear to indicate his days are numbered at Old Trafford.

Reports cited the 2-0 defeat to Moyes' former club Everton as the final straw for the Glazer family, which owns the club. United, who won the Premier League last season in Sir Alex Ferguson's final campaign in charge, are seventh in the table this time around.

The loss at Goodison Park was United's 11th of a wretched title defence and killed off any last hopes of a return to the Champions League next season with the gap to fourth-placed Arsenal now too big to bridge.

United were knocked out of this season's Champions League by holders Bayern Munich in the last eight, having led briefly in both legs.

They were eliminated from the FA Cup at the first hurdle by Swansea and were knocked out of the Capital One Cup at the semi-final stage by Sunderland.

Moyes continues to paint a positive picture about the future, but he cannot hide from the statistics that show just how badly his first season at United has gone.

United will end the season with their worst points total in Premier League history. They have failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in two decades.

And they will only guarantee Europa League football at Old Trafford next term if they overhaul the six-point gap that separates them from Tottenham.

Moyes, speaking to MUTV after the defeat at Goodison, is hoping to end the season on a high with wins in United's remaining four games, but the reports yesterday suggest he may not be afforded the opportunity to even see out the campaign as United boss.

'We need to end the season on a high,' the United manager said.

'We want to finish by winning all of our games. We'll do everything we possibly can to make that happen.'

Yet another blow hit Moyes when it emerged that forward Danny Welbeck was considering his future at the club following a lack of game time this year.

The embarrassment among the playing staff at losing yet another game so easily was clear yesterday morning.

Rio Ferdinand, who was not in the squad at Goodison Park, took to Twitter to air his feelings.

'Frustration & disappointment sums up the season so far,' the United defender wrote.

Wayne Rooney, captain on his return to Goodison Park, said recent defensive performances have not been up to scratch.

'We conceded two really sloppy goals, which we need to cut out because we're making it hard for ourselves to get back into games,' the United striker said.

'For the second one, we should have stopped the counter-attack. They ran in behind us. It's not good enough.'